The 2015 film Point Break is a remake of the 1991 classic Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze extreme sports crime caper movie. Directed by Ericson Core in his second full movie after 2006’s Mark Wahlberg Invincible.
In this version we meet extreme sports athlete and motocross expert Johnny ‘Utah’ Brennan who 7 years after the death of his friend, has abandoned riding and has joined the FBI.
Utah is despatched to attempt to infiltrate that he believes is attempting a legendary challenge whilst completing large financial crimes. As the plot develops we find that they are environmental warriers attempting to reach Nirvana, to become one with the planet so that they can help prevent ‘destruction of the very thing that gives us life’.
Whilst they’re doing this, they’re sometime stealing lots of money as they go. But other times not.
In the lead roles are Edgar Ramirez as Bodhi, Luke Bracey as Utah, Ray Winstone as Angelo Pappas and Delroy Lindo as FBI Instructor Hall.
There’s no debating that in the filming of these set pieces, there is some impressive cinematography of the stunt sequences and Core’s previous role as DOP in The Fast and Furious is telling in that regard. But the fact is that this film is a mess that shifts from one adrenaline fuelled set piece to another to barely any coherent storyline between them.
The film features some of the most shoddy, stereotypical dialogue, I’ve ever seen in a film. Brother. The characters are cliched, and one dimensional and its hard to muster and enthusiasm for their survival at all.
And that in part is the contradiction in this film. Its not really a remake of Point Break. It isn’t coming from the same place and ignores the strength that the relationship between Swayze and Reeves gave the film. Instead its a showcase for a number of set pieces of extreme sports that sometimes involve money. But oddly it takes the name, characters and moments that directly link back.
Unless you’re looking for some extreme sport set pieces, then avoid this film. If thats what you are looking for, then just fast forward through everything in between them.