Movie review: Point Break

Hello!

Welcome to one of the last movie reviews of this year. This time, we will be talking about Point Break – a 2015 remake of the 1991 film. I, personally, have not seen the original and do not plan on watching it, because my movie list is too long. Therefore, I will review this film not as a remake but as its own thing. I have also read online that the original and the remake are vastly different, so there is really no point to compare them. Lastly, I do not even want to comment on the fact that ‘they’ remade this film – I have run out of words when describing the greediness of Hollywood. Also, although this film has a 7% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I do not think that it deserves it. I went to see Point Break without any expectations and I was able to enjoy it with no pressure.

IMDb summary: A young FBI agent infiltrates an extraordinary team of extreme sports athletes he suspects of masterminding a string of unprecedented, sophisticated corporate heists. “Point Break” is inspired by the classic 1991 hit (so maybe it’s not a direct remake).

Story and Writing

Point Break (2015) was written by Kurt Wimmer, who has previously worked on Angelina Jolie’s Salt and is writing a sequel to that film. The story for the original was written by W. Peter Iliff. The narrative of the film was a bit repetitive and predictable and some of the characters were really flat, but the themes of the film interested me.

I have always though that extreme athletes feel that they conquer nature by doing their death-defying stunts, however, this movie presented a completely opposite view – risking your life so as to feel one with nature. Also, I found it interesting how they wanted to save the Earth from those who exploit it, by using the money and the resources of the said exploiters. Lastly, the introduction of the Osaki 8 and all the spiritual ideas that came with it was a unique choice for an action film.

Directing and Visuals

While the original film was directed by the esteemed  Kathryn Bigelow, the remake had Ericson Core as its director. Ccore has previously directed 2003’s Daredevil and also worked on photography of the first The Fast and The Furious film. I think that Core did a nice job with this film – the scenery and the establishing shots were really nice, however, sometimes the green screen and the usage of CGI were both visible and took me out of the film.

Acting

I quite liked the acting and could buy these actors in the roles of extreme athletes. However, the biggest props should definitely go to the extensive stunt team.

The two main characters were played by Édgar Ramírez (as Bodhi) and Luke Bracey (as Johnny Utah).  I am not familiar with them as actors, so I can’t really comment on their previous work. However, I did enjoy their performances in Point Break. I liked the fact that Bracey’s character was a former extreme athlete  – this made his actions on the FBI mission more believable. In addition, I liked the fact that he felt conflicted inside and was not just an idealistic hero. I also liked that Ramirez played an antagonist and not a straight up a villain – his ideas were definitely good and understandable (sadly, his methods were really questionable and by the end of the film he turned into a complete psycho).

Supporting characters of the film were not as developed: other members of Ramirez’s character’s team were played by Teresa Palmer (as Samsara Dietz) and  Tobias Santelmann (as Chowder). From the beginning of the film, one could tell that these characters were expendable and will definitely be dead by the end of the movie. Samsara’s and Utah’s romance was also really pushed.

Members of the FBI were played by Ray Winstone and Delroy Lindo. The last time I saw Winstone was in film Noah, which I had lots of problems with, however, I was happy to see Winstone getting more work. I am not familiar with Lindo’s work, but I thought that he did a fine job. Both of these characters were only present in the film so as to help develop the character of Utah.

All in all, I did not expect anything from this film and was satisfied with what I got. It is definitely not my favorite or the best film of the year, but I had a great time watching it and appreciated the ideas which were introduced. The visuals were also pleasing to the eye.

Rate: 3.5/5 

Trailer: Point Break trailer

P.S. I actually did find time to watch the original Point Break and, while I did like it, I think I enjoyed the remake more (and that’s definitely not the sentence that I’ve ever thought I’d say).