Point Break is lightning in a bottle. It came at a time when the 80's cheese, rock and roll and corniness had evolved and remastered itself into an ultimate force for entertainment, and escapist entertainment is the code Point Break lives and dies by. There's unshakable drive to pull audiences out of their everyday routines and thrust them in the front row seat of an endlessly quotable wild ride that owns its clichés and refines them into pure gold. This film knows how to latch on and engage all of your most potent primordial senses.
With that, there's far more depth and purely refined philosophy than people give it credit for. Patrick Swayze as Bodhi is unstoppably enigmatic, and while you're not asked to sympathize with him and the difficult choices he makes, it nonetheless thrusts his thrill-seeking lifestyle on a pedastal to show the true depth of the human spirit. His "us against the system" speech is brimming with passion, and is so effective for how easily it can light a fire in your belly. He makes a perfect foil for Johnny Utah in an emotionally charged story of forbidden love. Never has Keanu Reeves gelled with anyone onscreen like this since.
(I so often roll my eyes at all of those one sentence letterboxd reviews that insist on secret gay romances between lead characters, but yes this movie is pretty gay)
You'd think the way it was directed that Point Break was helmed by some hotshot guy who was young, dumb and full of cum. Who'd have thought Kathryn Bigelow could capture the wild adrenaline and testosterone fueled bromance this movie needed better than any man ever could. The chases, surfing and skydiving are magnificent, keeping all of the action feeling fresh while capturing the sequences well enough to compel you to stop and stare in awe.
Tried as they have to replicate the magic of Point Break in spinoffs (The Fast & The Furious) and remakes (a certain soulsucking 2015 feature), no attempt has matched the symphony of people and elements that came together to produce a true 1990's action masterpiece.
With that, there's far more depth and purely refined philosophy than people give it credit for. Patrick Swayze as Bodhi is unstoppably enigmatic, and while you're not asked to sympathize with him and the difficult choices he makes, it nonetheless thrusts his thrill-seeking lifestyle on a pedastal to show the true depth of the human spirit. His "us against the system" speech is brimming with passion, and is so effective for how easily it can light a fire in your belly. He makes a perfect foil for Johnny Utah in an emotionally charged story of forbidden love. Never has Keanu Reeves gelled with anyone onscreen like this since.
(I so often roll my eyes at all of those one sentence letterboxd reviews that insist on secret gay romances between lead characters, but yes this movie is pretty gay)
You'd think the way it was directed that Point Break was helmed by some hotshot guy who was young, dumb and full of cum. Who'd have thought Kathryn Bigelow could capture the wild adrenaline and testosterone fueled bromance this movie needed better than any man ever could. The chases, surfing and skydiving are magnificent, keeping all of the action feeling fresh while capturing the sequences well enough to compel you to stop and stare in awe.
Tried as they have to replicate the magic of Point Break in spinoffs (The Fast & The Furious) and remakes (a certain soulsucking 2015 feature), no attempt has matched the symphony of people and elements that came together to produce a true 1990's action masterpiece.