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Point Break (2015)

Good day to all of my readers new and old. As most of you know I try to give every film that I see a good nonbiased effort when I view them. This is for you, my readers, so I can give you a review that can be straight forward and as diplomatic as possible. Though there are some films out there that really test my resolve when it comes to my open-mindedness and unfortunately most of those films are remakes. Remakes (and some reboots…*cough* Ghostbusters) are becoming the bane of my film reviewing existence due mainly to fact that every time a remake/reboot is released it just reminds me of the greed that encompasses Hollywood. There is no need for these remakes/reboots. None. These movies were perfect the first time around and by Hollywood remaking them it only reminds true fans of these films how great the original was. There is nothing that Hollywood can do to recapture the same magic that made the original grand. Period.

Point in case (see what I did there?), the newest remake…Point Break. In 1991 Kathryn Bigelow (Zero Dark Thirty) brought together a young and upcoming star fresh off a now classic “stoner” time-traveling comedy and an established star with previous action film experience.  Point Break became a cult action hit and put Keanu Reeves on the path to stardom. The film, about a young cop being put undercover with a group of bank-robbing surfers, wasn’t perfect but it had its moments. Fast forward 24 years and Warner Bros. has released the remake with a leading man nobody really knows and his costar that I thought was good, but seemed to have faded away into the background.

The 2015 edition to Point Break stars Luke Bracey (The November Man) as extreme sports superstar turned FBI agent Johnny Utah. The reason for the change of scenery for Utah is that his friend dies in a dirt biking accident that Utah pushes him to do. So stricken with grief, Utah turns to joining the FBI. No rhyme or reason for this just thought since he can’t push himself to the limits on a snowboard or dirt bike, he is going into the exciting life of a FBI agent. During the last weeks of his training, Utah is called into his supervisors office and is told that he needs to prove that he wants to be a full-fledged FBI agent and by doing that Utah needs to figure out who a group of international thieves, who just so happens to be using extreme sports, are getting away with their crimes and why they are just giving their stolen property back to poor people.

This is where the film becomes more of an extreme sport highlight reel than an actual movie. I will admit that the film was beautifully shot around many foreign locations and the sports aspect of the film was (at times) impressive to watch. However, this is a movie and a movie is supposed to have a plotline and some character development. Some of the actions taken within the film have no point. Utah falls in love with Samsara (Teresa Palmer Warm Bodies), a woman that is attached to the group in an emotional way. Though, in the grand scheme of things she really is some random woman that happens to be a part of this film. I can only assume that he falls in love with her because of the googly eyes she gives him. Some of the stunts they do in the film were really random too. Bodhi, this time played by Édgar Ramírez (Joy) is following some extreme sports Dalai Lama-type figure in a quest to achieve some sort of enlightenment and he has to perform eight stunts to accomplish this. Stay with me on this. When I got confused is that it never really explains how he comes to these particular stunts because it just seems that there is a cryptic name for each stunt and then Bodhi and his crew perform random stunts and say they completed these tasks. Of course after a couple of their stunts, Bodhi and his crew need to give back to nature by stealing hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds or cash and give it back to poor people or at one point nature herself.

Ramírez is the only person among this cast that actually seems like he wants to be in the film. Not has much passion as Patrick Swayze, but at least Ramírez tries. Bracey seems like a board and really not all there. The rest of the cast is just background noise that is filled in to give the film depth. Plus the main thing that was missing from this remake is the bond between Utah and Bodhi that there was in the original. In the original the two main actors go through different things to build a trust and a mutual respect between them, that’s why Utah has a hard time shooting Bodhi after a robbery. However in this film, Bracey and Ramírez just seem to deal with the fact that they are both starring in this movie. The plot of the film doesn’t allow them to develop any type of connection.

As I mentioned before, the film is very stunningly filmed and the stunts were obviously very well thought out. Though director Ericson Core (Invincible) allows all of that take over the point of the movie. Core never gives the plot a chance to develop or the characters to mesh together. He was more focused on trying to wow the audience with these extreme stunts than he was trying to find the heart of this movie. Also, Core lets this film take itself WAY to seriously. No Gary Busey type character to take a little of the edge off the plot.

I just want to reiterate that remakes are a waste of time. If you want to enjoy the film fully, please just see the original. This film included. Not a life altering movie, but it had enough mixture of action, comedy, and even ‘challenge the man’ type attitude that made the 1991 original a watchable film. The 2015 remake is a 95 minute long extreme sport advertisement.

The Verdict: Not Worth Your Time.