Point Break (1991)

An F.B.I. Agent goes undercover to catch a gang of surfers who may be bank robbers.

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 Los Angeles, California, 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 | bank robbery | title directed by female | male bonding | undercover | 

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Taglines:

27 banks in three years. Anything to catch the perfect wave!

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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:

Japan USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 July 1991 (USA)

Also Known As:

Johnny Utah

Filming Locations:

Neptune's Net - 42505 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$43,218,387

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$97,000,000, 31 December 1991

Company Credits

Production Co:

Largo Entertainment, JVC Entertainment Networks

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Deluxe)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Patrick Swayze based aspects of his character after one of his stunt doubles, Darrick Doerner, a top big wave surfer.

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Goofs

After Johnny's surf lesson, they are watching Bodhi and there are shots of him surfing both regular and goofy-foot in the same sequence.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Shooting Instructor: [Agent Utah finishes his gun range test] 100%, Utah. Good job!

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Alternate Versions

In the Canada version, approximately two seconds were cut when Utah was talking to Harp in Harp's office.

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Connections

Remade as Point Break (2015)

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Soundtracks

If 6 Was 9
Performed and Written by Jimi Hendrix
Produced by Charles Chandler
Courtesy of Elber B.V.

User Reviews

The film for an adrenaline generation

Thirteen years on it sounds a little trite - an FBI agent examines his inner self whilst trying to bring down a gang of surfer bank robbers by infiltrating their scene. But dude, how Point Break pulled this off!

In what can now safely be regarded as one of the more generation-defining cinematic moments of the nineties, Point Break serves as not just a credible well-paced action thriller spectacle, but also as a voice for advocates of the adrenalin rush. The movie's sleeper popularity at the time would no doubt have helped issue in a new generation of 'X' sports for a new generation, as hungry sponsors leapt at a new market.

Kathryn Bigelow takes some key pointers from then hubby James Cameron and paces the movie brilliantly. There are many key moments of unique action - that chute-less jump from 4,000 feet being the highlight - that filled the trailer, but it is the cumulative effect of bringing these moments together that adds to the picture. For so many films the denouement is a gross failure but Bigelow controls the films peaks and troughs expertly and the ending is genuinely well handled, something that appears to be a real struggle for Hollywood today.

In what will go down as Patrick Swayze's finest moment on film, he plays the adrenalin guru Bodhi with glaze-eyed and silver tongued expertise, and manages to pull off the very difficult assignment of being both sane and insane simultaneously with accomplishment.

You can almost feel pulled by Bodhi's enthusiasm for a sensation 'as close as you get to God', and as a result can excuse the decade for being labeled that of the 'slacker' generation. The nineties weren't about slacking, just looking for a different kind of high.