Movie: Point Break (2015)
My Rating: 4 stars
This movie was everything I was hoping it would be. And, I was really hoping it’d be great. I was a little worried. The movie really bombed in theaters. I wanted to go see this one at the theater one weekend, but missed it. And then it was gone the next because it did so poorly. I was quite disappointed. Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m completely aware that this movie is cheesy as hell. But, like the Fast & Furious franchise, and all those dance movies I love, I’m not in it for the writing. I don’t care about the dialogue or plot line. I’m watching these things for the choreography. I’m watching them for the stunts. I want explosions and flips and a little making out if possible. And this movie is full of so much amazing extreme sports footage (real and computer generated). It’ll give you the chills. And, the fact that the movie is full of beautiful, tattooed, Eastern-European men peeling their shirts off for no discernable reason didn’t hurt at all.
This movie presents itself as a remake of the 1991 Keanu Reeves vehicle, but it really doesn’t have much to do with it. The only crossover seems to be the character names, a bank robbery, and a little bit of surfing. I think the studio just slapped the same name on this movie to pull in a few of those nostalgia dollars. But, I think it was actually a good excuse to put a little mindless sports action footage up on the screen—surfing, snowboarding, flying suits, motorcycle chases. And laying a soundtrack under that kind of thing makes it mesmerizing. The fact that the dialogue is trite, and that all the major plot points are telegraphed ages before they happen really didn’t take anything away from it for me. The footage is beautiful—so many panoramic mountain shots, and action footage. The list of stuntmen in the credits outnumbered cast members by about ten to one! It’s clear that a lot of money was sunk into this thing.
I really liked this movie and I’m a bit confused as to why no one else seemed to. Perhaps it’s because it takes itself a bit too seriously. It’s not like the Fast & Furious movies. Those guys know that they’re a bit of a joke, and have just decided to run with it. So, I guess the over-serious tone in this one can be off-putting—especially since this movie is so corny. But, we’re in the post-modern era. It’s ok to admit to enjoying silly things again. And, this is a genuinely exciting, silly movie. So, I definitely recommend this one. It’s a little sexy, full of thrills, and features a lot of groan-worthy dialogue. What more could you want?