Few movies make you drop everything and take action, but that’s exactly what happened when I watched Point Break for the first time. As an excellent Keanu Reeves action movie from director Kathryn Bigelow, this story of an undercover FBI agent infiltrating a crew of criminal surfers was so impactful that I jumped in the water the very next morning.
That’s because Point Break isn’t just an action movie; it’s a full-blown experience that blends fast-paced thrills with some poignant messaging about finding one’s idenтιтy through activity. While it was exciting to see Reeves share the screen with Patrick Swayze, this was just the tip of the iceberg in a movie that blends adrenaline with soul, style, and philosophy.
Point Break Treats Surfing As A Way Of Life, Not Just A Sport
There Is A Sense Of Spiritualism To Point Break
In Point Break, surfing isn’t just something the characters do; it’s a way of life that informs these Californian bank robbers’ entire idenтιтy. From the moment Johnny Utah (Reeves) steps on the beach, he’s not just entering an unfamiliar environment; he’s taking his first steps into a whole new world.
When Utah first encounters the expert surfer Bodhi (Swayze), he’s unaware that this is the leader of the “Ex-Presidents” crew he’s trying to uncover. Despite Bodhi being the man he’s looking to take down, this charismatic surfer quickly takes Utah under his wing and introduces him to the belief that surfing is not just fun, it’s a path to freedom.
While Utah should be keeping up strong boundaries, this new way of life quickly draws him, and he’s torn between his duty with the FBI and the newfound sense of discovery, meaning, and purpose he’s found in the water. The waves become a form of escape and allow Utah to step outside of the rigid professionalism that categorized his life.
In a typical action movie, the surfing would be a simple backdrop, but the thrilling nature of the sport is the driving force of the entire story. Surfing in Point Break represents achieving something outside of the mundanities of everyday life, and Bodhi’s dream to ride the waves of a “50-year storm” at Bells Beach, Australia, signals the ultimate freedom.
Point Break shows that freedom can’t be found through rigid rule following, and the unruly nature of the sea acts as a powerful representation of breaking out of the shackles of societal expectations. Although Utah and Bodhi come from opposite sides of the law, they can’t help but begrudgingly respect one another’s commitment to live by their own code.
Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze’s Chemistry Is Unmatched
Johnny Utah & Bodhi ‘Bodhisattva’ Were Great Characters
Although many might remember Point Break for its thrilling action sequences, such as its heart-racing freefall skydiving scene, the dynamic between Reeves and Swayze was what gave the film its emotional weight. Despite the love story between Utah and the female surfer Tyler (Lori Petty), it was Reeves and Swayze who shared the film’s most powerful onscreen bond.
With Utah as order and Johnny as chaos, never has the phrase opposite forces attract each other been more appropriate. From the moment they meet, these characters have a fascination with one another, and it’s clear that Utah views Bodhi as much more than a thrill-seeking criminal, and Bodhi knows there’s more to Utah than being a straight-laced cop.
Reeves’ performance perfectly captured Utah’s journey from a by-the-book rookie into someone facing their idenтιтy crisis head-on through surfing, while the electric magnetism of Swayze’s screen presence made him the perfect antagonist. Together, Reeves and Swayze elevate Point Break from being a standard action movie into a compelling character study of two men challenged and changed by opposite worlds.
Watching Point Break Actually Made Me Want To Surf
I Was Riding Waves The Very Next Morning
I recently watched Point Break for the first time, and I can’t remember the last time a film made me jump off the couch and try something new. The very next morning, after seeing Reeves ride the monster waves of a California beach, I too was surfing the cold water in the Irish ocean near my hometown of Sligo, Ireland.
Point Break struck a chord with me because it captured the spiritual thrill of the sport and its attempt to find harmony with the overwhelming power of the ocean.
Point Break struck a chord with me because it captured the spiritual thrill of the sport and its attempt to find harmony with the overwhelming power of the ocean. Riding waves with Point Break fresh in mind that morning was an important reminder that film can go beyond entertainment and push us to connect with something greater than ourselves.
It wasn’t easy to catch waves at first, but determination meant I felt the indescribable thrill of being propelled toward the beach by the power of the ocean. Anyone watching me catch tiny waves from the shore would have been underwhelmed, but to me, it was like when Bodhi rode his once-in-a-lifetime wave in the film’s closing scene.
The 2015 Remake Forgot What Made The Original Work
Point Break 2015 Did Not Have The Same Impact
As someone who found great meaning in the original movie, I was excited to check out the 2015 remake of Point Break from director Ericson Core. While there was an attempt to modernize the story with bigger stunts and flashy visuals, it was missing the soul that made the 1991 version work so well.
The new Point Break dropped the mysticism of surfing in favor of dull machoism.
Without Reeves or the late Swayze reprising their iconic roles, this reimagining of Point Break was underwhelming, and Ray Winstone was unable to live up to the appeal of Gary Busey’s incredible performance as Utah’s partner, Angelo. The new Point Break dropped the mysticism of surfing in favor of dull machoism, and the film flopped like a wiped-out surfboard in the whitewash.
