Point Break (1991)

VERDICT:
7/10 Gnarly Waves

A guilty pleasure if there ever was one.

Point Break is about an L.A. cop named Johnny Utah who goes undercover to infiltrate a group of bank-robbing adrenaline junkies led by a blonde vision named Bodie. Eventually it gets to the point (break) where Johnny Utah knows that the robbers know that he’s a cop, and vice-versa, but neither party lets on that they know. Yes, it’s a little complicated, but such is the life of Johnny Utah.

You really can’t take this movie seriously because, for the most part, it doesn’t really take itself seriously either. Did I mention that the story revolves around Keanu Reeves playing a surfercop named Johnny Utah.? Kinda speaks for itself, really.

I’ve gotten in a number of debates about whether Keanu is a bad actor or just a really bad actor, but it wasn’t until recently that my opinion has started to drift towards “Eh. Maybe he’s not so bad.” After having a Keanu talk with a fellow movie buff, he told me he liked Keanu because, yeah, he’s a bad actor, but he knows he’s a bad actor. He’s never gone out and defended his acting abilities and doesn’t parade around in the public eye pretending like he’s hot shit. And that’s pretty cool.

So with that said, Keanu’s alright in this. If you’re looking for a guy to play a stereotypical surfer with a dash of legitimacy thrown in there, getting someone named Keanu to play the part is probably a good call. He’s no Patrick Swayze, but let’s be honest, no one’s Patrick Swayze. He’s the essence of cool and his character’s name is Bodie.

Most tubular.

This is a movie where you find yourself laughing a lot in all the wrong places. The dialogue is really fuckin’ bad and the actors really aren’t doing themselves any favors by saying the lines out loud. But the story itself is entertaining if nothing else. It’s pretty intense, there are some great action scenes that are pretty amazing to watch (i.e.: two different skydiving sequences; impressive to say the least), and of course…Gary Busey’s in it.

I’ll save the Busey tirade for another occasion.

So if you’re a guy and you like action, and you’re just in the mood for a good cops and robbers movie where fools get shot and do insano shit to get a rush over the course of two hours, can’t go wrong with Point Break. Not exactly a good movie, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a fan.

Keanu.

SIDENOTE: Check this out. The guys from Human Giant and Reno 911! re-creating a scene from the PB. Awesome.