The Fast And The Furious (2001), directed by Rob Cohen and shot by Core, was acknowledged as little more than a thinly-veiled remake of Bigelow’s film, switching out the surfboards for hot rods. It’s interesting to note how the Point Break and Fast & Furious franchises have fed and cannibalised each other over the past two decades. His crew becomes one with nature through dangerous stunts before liberating what was taken from the planet, be it diamonds, gold or lumber.īut as Utah is drawn back to his old life, his growing affection for his targets threatens to jeopardise the entire case. Infiltrating the thrill-seeking community, Utah gains the trust of prime suspect Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez), a man not looking for material gain, but spiritual enlightenment. Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), a former extreme athlete who joined the FBI following a personal tragedy, believes the gang is attempting a series of spiritual challenges known as The Ozaki Eight. It’s interesting to note how the Point Break and Fast & Furious franchises have fed and cannibalised each other over the past two decadesĮxpanding the canvas of the original film, which focused solely on the Los Angeles surfing community of the early 90s, this remake, scripted by Kurt Wimmer ( Salt, Total Recall) follows a globe-trotting gang of daredevil Robin Hoods, who pull off death-defying heists before redistributing their gains to poverty-stricken communities. However, fans of the original will mourn the lack of memorable characters, quotable dialogue and the now-legendary central bromance. Featuring a number of impressive action set pieces, it could pull big numbers in the world’s second biggest film market, where the similarly-themed Fast & Furious 7 scored an unprecedented US$390 million earlier this year. Thanks to co-financing from DMG Entertainment, Point Break opens in China and Hong Kong this weekend, three weeks ahead of its US debut. When one of the surfer goons accidentally blasts off his own foot, you almost forget you're watching a movie where Keanu Reeves brings a surfboard to his office.24 years after Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze took to the waves in Kathryn Bigelow’s adrenaline-fuelled action thriller, Ericson Core revisits the story of a young FBI agent working undercover in a gang of extreme sports criminals. It's a complicated set piece enlivened by small, funny details like the agents' walkie-talkies becoming useless because of a nearby lawn mower, the perilous presence of a naked woman in the shower, and that funny mirror device Keanu uses to see inside. With Busey coming through the front door pretending to look for his lost dog, two dopey FBI red shirts covering the back door, and Keanu hiding near the side of the house so he doesn't blow his cover, Bigelow slowly turns up the heat by cutting between the action inside the house and the anxiety of the team outside. When the FBI goes after Anthony Kiedis and the rest of his gang, mistaking them for the bank-robbing Ex-Presidents that have been terrorizing Los Angeles banks, Bigelow gets the chance to put on a master class in tension, action-movie staging, and dark humor. In a warm-up for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow stages one stomach-churning raid sequence in the film that points to her future as the undisputed champ of pulse-pounding, militarized suspense. Like in Road House, he plays a character with a zen-like quality who also has the capacity for brutal, throat-ripping violence. Has any actor so fully embodied every New Age truth at once? Watching him in Point Break is a bit like listening to an Enya song, staring at a crystal, and doing one-armed pull-ups at the same damn time. With his slicked-back hair, deadpan delivery, and, "Hey, you wanna check out my band Dogstar?" charm, Reeves is the perfect audience surrogate, bringing the viewer into both the macho world of the FBI and the mysterious realm of surfers with laid-back ease.Īnd then there's Swayze. Despite Reeves' reputation for vacant stares and lunk-headed line readings, his calming blankness brings a stabilizing force to Point Break. They’re the ridiculous, over-the top monikers that require ridiculous, over-the-top performers to bring them to life - actors like Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, specifically. Johnny Utah and Bodhi: now those are movie-character names.
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