Reviews & Ratings for
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140 out of 168 people found the following review useful:

An under-rated classic

Author: Keegen from Melbourne, Australia
6 January 1999

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.

119 out of 170 people found the following review useful:

The Sum is larger than the Parts.

Author: (warnerm@bigfoot.com) from Monterey, CAlifornia
23 June 1999

Movies are like Bands. People come together--maybe they're not even the greatest musicians individually--but together, something meshes and they make great music. It takes more than great musicians to make a great band. Just so, some movies, no matter how much money, talent, and horsepower is brought to bear, just don't coalesce. Others, like Point Break, come together with an ineffable "rightness" that defies any of the parts, logic, or analysis. This is one of my favorite movies. Period. Everything "works." This movie ROCKS.

86 out of 118 people found the following review useful:

The film for an adrenaline generation

Author: rhino-25 from Pirongia, New Zealand
14 October 2004

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.

61 out of 83 people found the following review useful:

How can you not like this film...

Author: gbenson20 from Waterloo, IA
27 September 2006

OK, sure it is just a big action film with a flimsy script and crazy stunts but.... it is filmed so great. It feels so summer in Cali. It makes you want to forget your blah zaa blah job, move to the beach and surf your azz off and have summer bonfires all night and party the night away. I have been reading others comments on why they can't understand the guilty pleasure about this movie.... Duh that's the whole idea. Yes you can like movies that have you thinking about this and that at the end. You can have movies that astound you. And of course you can have movies that can make you feel like you had a great F'N experience. This is what this movie is. Eat your popcorn. Dive into it AND have a great time. Who cares about the social impact. Enjoy it and think about this. Sex Wax! If it's in the movie, it's a FUN movie! Holla

55 out of 79 people found the following review useful:

Great "new age" action thriller

Author: Mikew3001 (mikew4001@yahoo.de) from Hamburg, Germany
7 January 2003

Katheryn Bigelow's 1991 action thriller "Point Break" is still a ground-breaking film of the early nineties. It tells the story of the cop John Utah (Keanu Reaves) hunting a bunch of bank robbers camouflaged with masks of the former U.S. presidents. His investigations leads to a group of surfers and extreme sports worshippers, and the cop becomes fascinated by the free-style philosophies and adrenaline rushes of the gang around the charismatic leader Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). Their close friendship changes to a hard-fought rivalry at the end when cop and gangsters face point blank.

Bigelow uses typically American surf beach settings for this unusual and very stylish action thriller with great stunts like parachuting scenes, bank robberies, a car chase, police raids, martial arts, breath-taking chases and brilliantly photographed surf sequences. Watch out for the Red Hot Chillie Peppers as a gang of brutal surf nazis beating up Keanu Reeves and being captured by him during a hard-fought police raid.

But "Point Break" is even more than that - it also shows the lifestyle of the nineties in many ways. Bodie and his gang are a group of New Age-like grunge guys reaching out for the most extreme adrenaline experiences. They stand for the new style of extreme/fun sport worshippers, ravers and new spiritualists of the post-yuppie era in the nineties who don't care about wealth and status symbols but for fun, action, breaking the limits and finding the sum of all senses. "Point Break" is not only a well-done example of modern action entertainment without computer-generated special effects but also a very philosophical and spiritual study of society in the nineties.

112 out of 203 people found the following review useful:

So you've decided to live like Bodhi.

Author: JFHunt from Manhattan
2 May 2006

There are a couple of things you should remember before attempting to become a bank robbing surf god.

First: Odd's are you are no where near as cool as Bodhi and that's a major hill to climb. Here's my advice on that subject. Start smoking, everyone's a little bit cooler if they smoke. Then start drinking. A man will always be judged on how much alcohol he can consume and a woman will always be impressed, whether she likes it or not. You might also want to pick up a copy of Road House.

Second: Change your appearance. Actually you might want to start working on this immediately, as it's probably the most difficult. Grow your hair out, then use "sun in" everyday for 3 weeks. Repeat for goatee. Then go shopping. Hit up the local surf store. There your find all the ponchos and skids you will need. If there's no surf store, find a good will or second-hand shop.

Third: Meet new friends. By now you're strung out and paranoid from being alone all the time. You're going to need people to follow and worship you. Try making pamphlets explaining your cause. If pamphlets don't work, actually try talking to people. Instead of asking for change this time, try discussing sports or politics. And I know what you're thinking, finding friends is hard. Can't find them, buy them.

Finally: Funding. So you think you're ready to surf the big waves. The next step is to find money. Banks have plenty of money. Try asking nicely if they could give you some donations. If that doesn't work, try getting a job. If that doesn't work. Try robbing the bank you first went too. If that doesn't work. Start lifting weights. In jail you're going to need be able to defend yourself. Repeat step 1, watch Road House. Patrick Swayze kills like 7 people in that movie.

You're on your way. Remember your roots. You're freaking Patrick Swayze. He once survived a plane crash. He was flying the plane.

32 out of 44 people found the following review useful:

Words of praise

Author: kinghell from Stoke, England
11 June 2000

I must have seen this film a dozen times now, and I'm not going to stop watching it until I'm well and truly sick of it - it's just superb.

Certain sequences are stunning - the camera work during the chase and free fall scenes leave you breathless, and the surfing footage is excellent. The acting is generally good, particularly Busey as a veteran FBI agent, but Keanu's usual expressionless vocals and face disappoint. The script is sharp and witty. And the stunts really shine, particularly the Bond-style psycho skydiving near the end.

This is, in my opinion, a very underrated film which deserved better from the critics.

43 out of 73 people found the following review useful:

Goofy and fun.

Author: Peach-2 from Netherlands
21 January 1999

This movie has energy. The story is kinda goofy, but the direction from Kathryn Bigelow has the right amount of pacing and atmosphere. The chase scene midway through the film is a breath-taking example of what film-makers can do, if they have energy and vision. This movie is pure entertainment and a blast to watch.

39 out of 66 people found the following review useful:

Super Surf Sandwich

Author: Mr Parker (spookyscribe@yahoo.com) from New York City
19 July 2001

I like this movie. I can't really go into why too much but I can tell you that I watch this flick everytime it comes on cable if I'm home. I think it's worth a couple of hours of your day. It first comes off as kind of hokey but somehow ends up becoming very engrossing. Keanu Reeves gives us a nice display of things to come in his career as this movie was released pre-Speed and Matrix. Patrick Swayze gives us a nice little performance as surfing zen Bodhi. The surfing scenes are well done and so are the bank robbery pieces. Kathryn Bigelow does a good job directing this one and the rest of the cast, especially Gary Busey, turn in solid performances. Note the chase scene with Keanu Reeves going after a Ronald Reagan masked Swayze: I'd put it in the top ten chase scenes of all times and I think most people would agree with me on that one. Definitely worth checking out. **** out of *****.

42 out of 74 people found the following review useful:

"100 percent pure adrenaline"

Author: JohnnyUtah from Nowhere
23 June 2001

Die Hard might be the greatest action movie of all time, but "Point Break" is not too far behind. Keanu Reeves plays federal agent Johnny Utah(a role he was born to play) who is teamed up with a veteran federal agent Angelo played by Gary Busey to crack the case of the ex president bank robbers. Angelo has a theory that the bank robbers are surfers, and Johnny goes undercover as a surfer to bust the bank robbers. Along the way he meets adrenaline junkie Bohdi played by Patrick Swayze. Well I am not going to give anymore away. This movie has some of the most amazing action scenes ever! It is highly entertaining and very quotable. Reeves is playing a role he was born to play(next to Ted in Bill and Ted) and Swayze has a lot of fun in his role. The movie is also very quotable and has a great soundtrack. So if you are in the video store looking for a good action film rent "Point Break". "Vayo Con Dios"

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