Point Break (1991)

An FBI agent goes undercover to catch a gang of bank robbers who may be surfers.

Director:

Kathryn Bigelow

Writers:

Rick King (story), W. Peter Iliff (story),

Stars:

Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Patrick Swayze	...	Bodhi
Keanu Reeves	...	Johnny Utah
Gary Busey	...	Pappas
Lori Petty	...	Tyler
John C. McGinley	...	Ben Harp (as John McGinley)
James Le Gros	...	Roach
John Philbin	...	Nathanial
Bojesse Christopher	...	Grommet
Julian Reyes	...	Alvarez
Daniel Beer	...	Babbit
Chris Pedersen	...	Bunker
Vincent Klyn	...	Warchild
Anthony Kiedis	...	Tone
Dave Olson	...	Archbold
Lee Tergesen	...	Rosie

Storyline

In the coastal town of Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers call themselves the ex-presidents. commit their crimes while wearing masks of ex-presidents Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. The F.B.I. believes that the members of the gang could be surfers and send young agent Johnny Utah undercover at the beach to mix with the surfers and gather information. Utah meets surfer Bodhi and gets drawn into the lifestyle of his new friend.

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Plot Keywords:

surfer | undercover | fbi | mask | beach | 

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Taglines:

100% Pure Adrenaline.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

USA Japan

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Riders on the Storm

Filming Locations:

Neptunes Net, 42505 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$43,218,387 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

JVC Entertainment Networks, Largo Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Keanu Reeves observed real FBI agents in L.A. to study for the role. He also practiced with UCLA quarterback coaches to help with the football scene.

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Goofs

During the raid on the house, Agent Utah hides in a bathroom were a naked surfer girl attacks him. She knees him in the groin but her knee is clearly seen going up outside his thighs instead of in between them. It's a poorly-staged choreograph.

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Quotes

Bodhi: Goddamn! You are one radical son of a bitch!

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Connections

Referenced in Skills Like This (2007)

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Soundtracks

"My City"
Performed by Shark Island
Written by Spencer Sercombe, Greg Ellis
Produced by Duncan Bridgeman
Courtesy of Impact Records, J.V.

User Reviews

An under-rated classic

Point Break is one of those films that everybody loves, but that nobody actually talks about all that often. It is a film that if you mention it in conversation, everyone else around is bound to say how much they enjoyed it.

The film's two main assets are unexpected ones, in the form of the direction and the script. The direction by Kathryn Bigelow is nothing short of excellent. Her handling of the action and suspense scenes is exciting and riveting. The two sky-diving scenes are brilliant as is the foot chase through the streets (and houses) of the city. The script, by W. Peter Illif, is also very good and the best thing about the film. The plot is multi-layered and has an original relationship between the hero and the villain. The way the story resolves itself and the ultimate resolutions is excellent, by the standards of most Hollywood action films.

This film deserves to be remembered as one of the better actioners of the nineties, not up there with Die Hard 2/3 or Speed, but better than 90% of the action junk made nowadays. At least this film has a plot.