One night in 2007, two West Country police officers spent an evening bonding to the joys of high octane ‘90s police thrillers with a double bill of Bad Boys 2 and the superior Point Break. Inspired by the onscreen carnage, they went on to emulate the mayhem, shooting up – and bringing justice to – the charming (if rather murder-y) village of Sandford.
Ok, so yes, that’s obviously the end of Hot Fuzz, but that doesn’t diminish either Point Break’s influence or position as one of the best – not to mention batshit insane – high concept action movies of the ‘90s.
The plot (and yes, we considered putting that in inverted commas) sees Keanu Reeves’ rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah – what a name! – assigned to find, infiltrate, and capture a team of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents, so-named due to their penchant for wearing masks of former presidents during robberies (the idea that a president could be a felon being somewhat of a novel concept in the ‘90s. It was a simpler time). His partner, Gary Busey, miraculously deduces that the gang are comprised of surfers, so Utah is dispatched to the nearest beach, surfboard in hand to learn how to surf, find the gang, fall in love with a surfer chick, re-evaluate all his life choices and loyalties, and say “woah!” with alarming regularity.
There, he soon falls under the influence of zen-like surfer Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and his group, who – wouldn’t you just know it – turn out to be the very gang he’s hunting (what are the odds, eh?). From there, it’s all conflicted loyalties, fantastic action (one-foot chase, in particular, is an all-timer), people jumping out of planes – both with and without parachutes – lots of beautiful shots of beaches at sunset, talks about mysticism, as well as some truly stunning surf action.
It all unfolds pretty much as you’d expect. As Hot Fuzz fans can attest, there’s a scene when a conflicted Utah finds himself unable to shoot Bodhi and ends up firing his gun in the air in frustration. (Whether Reeves or Nick Frost pulls it off best is up for debate.) But you don’t come here for a nuanced plot. You come for the most ‘Keanu Reeves’ Keanu Reeves performance of all time, Busey being insane, a never better Swayze (yes, even better than Roadhouse or that one with the dancing), and insane action (including Swayze doing his own skydiving stunts 30 years before Tom Cruise had the idea). Plus, Anthony Kiedis from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers was punched in the face (one gem from the BTS on the Blu-ray – he refused to turn up for stunt rehearsals, so the stunt coordinator had his character immediately knocked out in his first fight. He cooperated after that).
To say Point Break is influential is an understatement. It took an actor best known for indie dramas and goofing off in Bill and Ted and turned him into a bona fide action star. Without Point Break, Reeves would never have done Speed, The Matrix or John Wick. Swayze may never have escaped the shadow of Dirty Dancing. Kathryn Bigelow may not have gone on to become the first woman in history to win a Best Director Oscar (for The Hurt Locker). It aided producer (and Bigelow’s then-husband) James Cameron on his quest for world domination. Plus, The Fast and the Furious franchise even started off as a Point Break rip-off, substituting Swayze with far less charismatic Vin Diesel, surfing with street racing, and bank robberies with stealing DVD players. And yet, somehow, that’s the one that gets 10 sequels!
The transfer on the new Blu-ray looks great, although it’s let down by a bog standard set of extras. These comprise regular behind-the-scenes featurettes (another gem – Swayze’s insurers wouldn’t allow him to skydive – which he did anyway – but were fine with him constantly risking his life while surfing) and a reunion where two of the ex-presidents wander around some of the locations (basically a beach). Ignore the extras, though and get lost in one of the best action movies of the ‘90s. It’ll make you want to roll on the floor while firing a gun in the air. That’s a good thing, honest.
POINT BREAK is available on 4K UHD Blu-ray on August 2nd.
