Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991) Three reasons why I'd have switched channels if I had accidentally caught it on TV:
1.) Keanu Reeves
2.) Ridiculous plot thing within the first 20 minutes or so.
3.) Ugh, Keanu Reeves
But I didn't watch it on TV. I made the trek up to the movie theater, paid up for the ticket and settled in. People on this here forum are very convincing!
It was a good thing I watched this after
Near Dark and
Blue Steel because I pretty much knew going in that there would be lots of plot holes and flaws in the narrative. I've come to expect that from Bigelow and realized that I like her films despite all that. So when Pappas gives his explanation for why he thinks surfers are involved in this whole operation and brings out the
Sex Wax, I just ever-so-gently rolled my eyes and continued to watch. Good thing too because this got so good!
I love the way Bigelow grabs you by the collar and flings you into her film within the first five minutes or so. And the first 15-20 minutes of this film are full of hilarious lines (
"When they run they dump the vehicle and they vanish... like a virgin on prom night. I mean they vanish, swishh..."; "Listen you snot-nose little shit, I was takin' shrapnel in Khe Sanh when you were crappin' in your hands and rubbin' it on your face."). And then there's that first bank robbery which is both ridiculously funny and totally audacious and brilliant at the same time (
"Gentlemen, I promised to take Mrs. Lincoln to Ford's Theater tonight. We'll continue this tomorrow.").
So all this was fun enough that by the time we get to the surfer theory explanation, I'm in a forgiving state of mind. And then the movie turns into scene after scene of beautiful surfing scenes shot at twilight or dawn. Here again, like in
Near Dark, I loved the scene where our protagonist has to earn his entry into an established tribe. The football on the beach scene is perfect in terms of tone and feels totally authentic and best of all, it's shot to the taillights of a bunch of cars parked on the beach and looks amazing!
Yet again, seemingly really silly plot. But lots of other ideas floating beneath the surface. There's a lot of stuff about the symmetry between the two sides of the law. At least for the first 3/4ths of the film, the conflict between the code that Johnny Utah is used to and the one that he gets introduced to by Bodhi is all really interesting. Plus, the key romance in the story is not really the one between Utah and Tyler, but the one between Utah and Bodhi. And Bodhi is just a really seductive and charismatic character. It's easy to see why people are so drawn to him.
Unfortunately, the whole thing sort of falls apart in the last 20 minutes or so. Bodhi's character suddenly goes batshit crazy and becomes completely villainous. A lot of his actions from that point on seem out of character. All of the subtlety is traded in for a much more cynical (and yet more pat) resolution.
And I can't totally ignore these flaws and I can't promise that everyone will love this movie. Keanu Reeves's performance got a ton of unintentional laughter from my fellow audience and I don't blame them for it. But it's also got one of the funniest and most exciting foot-chases I've ever seen on film. And the adrenaline rush from all of the surfing scenes and the skydiving scenes are extremely palpable. And those 45 or so minutes where we see Keanu Reeves's character struggle with his loyalty towards his new friends and what his job requires him to do are all totally interesting. There's a lot of humor and really fun set pieces. I had lots of fun watching it.
Grade: B-