Point Break – The Ultimate (B)Romance
Off the bat I must say, this is one of my favorite movies of all time. It is the perfect blend of action, comedy, and fun. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet the dramatic stakes are immense. I cannot imagine a single way for this film to be improved. It also holds a special place in my heart as it was one of the films I watched with Kaleb as our friendship was developing. We laughed, we cried, and had a hell of a night watching crazy movies for the first time. I’ll never forget watching Keanu Reeves skydiving – Kaleb and I laughing the entire five minute scene as he plummets toward the ground, never getting any closer. To me, that is cinema.
Point Break is the story of Johnny Utah, a rookie FBI agent played by Keanu Reeves, who goes undercover in a group of surfers led by Bodhi – Patrick Swayze – who Utah suspects is robbing banks on the side. Throughout the film, Utah forms a strong bromance with Bodhi, and the lines of right and wrong begin to blur as they get closer.
Reeves and Swayze play off each other perfectly and have some of the best on-screen chemistry I’ve ever seen. It’s a shame they only ever made one movie together. You can buy their relationship as platonic or even romantic at times, as I do. There’s an insane amount of subtext and sexual tension between their characters that in my opinion cannot be ignored.
Utah’s character is also defined by his other relationships. An overtly romantic one with female surfer Tyler (Lori Petty) and his partner in the FBI Agent Pappas (Gary Busey). Utah has a lot of love to give, as throughout the film he is either romantically involved with or willing to die for all of them. It is a fascinating dynamic not commonly brought to the big screen like this.
This film has it all. Amazing one liners like “You want me like acid in your mouth.” pepper this film and reward the listening audience. Insane action sequences seem to occur every fifteen minutes, perpetually putting Utah in peril. Surfing montages that include enormous waves, big enough to impress Poseidon himself. Bank robberies being committed by a man in a Ronald Reagan mask.
Bigelow directs the hell out of this. The camera feels like a character in itself, going where it needs to go to best tell the story. The skydiving scenes are particularly impressive.
Despite the two hour runtime, the script is tight. If you want to turn your brain off and watch a fun-filled action-fest, it works. If you want to interpret it as a critique of American politics and law enforcement, Point Break has you covered. This film will come to you, however you’re willing to take it.
I can’t recommend this enough. I consider it a perfect film, and I very rarely say that. I have seen this four times in as many years, and will happily watch this at least once a year for the rest of my life, as a little treat.
Bigelow Rankings:
As this is one of my all time favorite films, I’d be surprised if this is ever usurped in the rankings.
- Point Break
- Blue Steel
- Near Dark
- The Loveless
Join me next week as we hit the halfway point of Bigelow’s filmography with Strange Days.
