Point Break

**_The fast and the furious on the beaches of Southern California_** A young FBI agent (Keanu Reeves) is sent by his superior (Gary Busey) to investigate a surfer gang to find out if they’re a notorious group of bank robbers. Patrick Swayze plays the guru-like leader of the gang while Lori Petty is on hand as a surfer companion. John C. McGinley appears as the FBI chief. "Point Break" (1991) is an action/crime thriller set mostly on the beaches of SoCal that obviously influenced "The Fast and the Furious" (2001) plot-wise. This is the better movie due to Swayze’s charismatic character and the interesting dynamic between Utah (Reeves) and Bodhi (Swayze), not to mention the relationship of Utah and Pappas (Busey) as well as Utah and Tyler (Lori). So, while this is a snappy, action-packed flick, it doesn’t forget to provide human interest. In some ways it’s even great with certain seeming plot holes easily explained if you think about it; others maybe not so much. Since it was made in 1990 it has an 80’s vibe (in a good way) with a pre-grunge soundtrack. Nirvana’s NEVERMIND wouldn’t debut until 2.5 months after its release. The film runs 2 hours, 2 minutes, and was shot mostly in greater Los Angeles (Malibu, Culver City, Santa Monica, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach and Venice). The surfing scenes were done in O'ahu, Hawaii; the skydiving scenes at Lake Powell, Utah; and the closing Australian sequence at Cannon Beach, Oregon. GRADE: B+

**Katherine Bigelow creates a beautiful complex action blockbuster with magnificent depth and chapters.** Wow. Just wow. Point Break is a deep character-driven film full of top-notch action, mind-blowing stunts, and incredible performances. These actors made you fall in love and deeply care about each character and moment in the film. Each actor's portrayal was thoughtful, dedicated, outstanding, and worthy of much more acclaim and awards than received. This film transformed Keanu Reeves into an action hero, with Point Break only being the first of many 90s action movies he led, including Speed and The Matrix. Gary Busey nailed his mentor role as Agent Pappas. But the stand-out performance was Patrick Swayze as the cool and captivating Bodhi. His performance was shown brilliantly through his eyes, which said much more than any dialogue. Unfortunately, the real crime was Swayze didn't even get a nomination for this astonishing role. The complex relationship between Reeves and Swayze's characters as their friendship develops and their conflicting sides of the law is the focal point of the movie, providing an excellent foundation for the fantastic action sequences. Point Break is an incredible movie about friendship and justice, with skydiving action fight sequences, robbery heists, and chase scenes. Katherine Bigelow's film remains one of the greatest action and heist movies of the 90s and the inspiration for the Fast and the Furious franchise.