Point Break (1991)

Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow | 122 minutes | action, crime | Actors: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James Le Gros, John Philbin, Bojesse Christopher, Julian Reyes, Daniel Beer, Chris Pedersen, Vincent Klyn, Anthony Kiedis

Los Angeles, early 90s. For some time now, the city has been plagued by a series of strange bank robberies. The robbers use masks of former presidents and they are only interested in cash, leaving the safes alone. FBI agent Pappas suspects that these are surfers who have gone astray, although he can’t quite explain why. When young Johnny Utah joins the department, Pappas can test his theory. Johnny sets out to infiltrate LA’s surf scene, even though he’s never surfed in his life.

‘Point Break’ is a blend of a number of diverse genres: crime, surf, action and comedy. That combination could work, but then everything has to be right. What’s right in ‘Point Break’ are the energetic action scenes, with surf stunts, chases (with and without means of transport), aerial acrobatics and a few rough police actions. The pace is always nice and we see things we haven’t seen before, like a stark naked chick who fearlessly (and unwisely) attacks a couple of police officers.

What ‘Point Break’ lacks is a credible script. The fact that the robbers were not caught earlier is not due to the robbers, but to the totally unbelievable clumsiness of the FBI. Rarely has the FBI been portrayed as such a bunch of unprofessional, incompetent, and bickering whackers. Do they need a hair sample from a surfer? Then they go to a beach to manually rip a strand of hair from a surfer’s head. Do they have a barely founded suspicion? Then they immediately go out with heavy artillery, with which they immediately get in the way of other FBI departments, because they don’t communicate either.

In addition to the harsh scenario, the acting is also severely below par. Keanu Reeves in particular doesn’t give a damn, although he makes up for it somewhat with his charming looks. The tone of the film is never quite consistent. The (rather bland) humor clashes with the (sometimes) brutal violence, and the freedom-loving surfer dudes are difficult to reconcile with the ruthless robbers.

‘Point Break’ is ultimately a film that relies on energy, action and big names. Inevitably, we must think of the legendary films these big names have directed (Bigelow) or starred in (Reeves, Swayze, Busey). That certainly doesn’t include ‘Point Break’.