Point Break (1991 Film)

 Any of you guys ever get the feeling when you watched something, only to re-watch and realize how far a head of its time it was. Well that certainly fits with what I am writing about on my blog today and it is the early 90s classic, Point Break.

Point Break stars the always great Keanu Reeves along with the late, great Patrick Swayze (RIP) as Johnny Utah and Bodhi. The film also stars Gary Busey, Lori Petty, and John C. McGinley.

The story follows rookie FBI agent, Johnny Utah, a former Quarterback at Ohio State who assists Senior agent Angelo Pappas in investigating a string of bank robberies by a group called the Ex-Presidents. Although they never rob the vault, they only grab the cash from the tellers and left within 90 seconds.

Pappas' theory is the criminals are within the surfer community and Utah is tasked to infiltrate and see who could be the Ex-Presidents.

He soon becomes friends with Bodhi (Swayze) and his gang of surfers and quickly discovers who they really are and it becomes a game of cat and mouse between Utah and Bodhi.

I love the action scenes in the film, especially the surfing ones, which makes sense for a surfing movie lol. But seriously, just something about it and the music along with those scenes just makes me feel peaceful and mystic. 

I appreciate the effect that Swayze, Reeves and Petty put into those scenes. The chemistry of the cast especially between Utah and Bodhi has been incredible.

Now, I must admit, I didn't get to see this movie right away, it was until I gotten a little older when I first remember seeing it. But now that I am much older and I see where the world is at nowadays, it makes me think completely different about the film.

Like with how Bodhi sees the world we are living in, it is crazy to think that a movie character predict where we would be 35 years later as a society. The whole point of what Bodhi and his gang are doing in their minds is "fighting the system". One of the best quotes of the film is when Bodhi stood up at the campfire talked about how it was never about the money, it was about proving to the people who drive metal coffins everyday that the human spirit is still alive.

Now with that being said, I do not believe robbing banks is the answer and they are certainly criminals, but look where the general population is living today. Most of us just simply get into our vehicles and go to work, only to come home and do it all over again. It is even worse nowadays as most of us work our tails off only to discover that we can barely scratch by and it doesn't seem to get any better anytime soon. We try our best to stay healthy both in mind, body and soul. But does anyone wonder if it is more about industry than what it was actually indeed to be? Just a thought.

Heck! Keith Duggan of the Irish Times said it better than I ever could.

"For more than any other film of that time, Point Break seemed to announce what lay ahead in the grungy, baggy, anything goes 1990s, with greed and anti-capitalist forces clashing, America emitting its last lion's roar of unfettered optimism and the quest for one's precious spirit moving from the remnants of the hippy era into a multi-billion health and spirituality industry...Yup, standing on a stormy beach in 1991, old Bodhi had a pretty clear view of the next three decades."

This movie certainly earned its cult following status that is for sure. Congrats to everyone involved in the film!

Until Next Time!

God Bless and Be Safe Everybody! 🙏🙏🙏