‘Point Break’ pales in comparison to original


When it comes to movie remakes, only so few seem to do the original version justice by trying something different or executing a different spin on it through good direction and writing. While many other ones don’t seem to do it justice at all.

“Point Break” falls into the latter category.

Released on Dec. 25, this film remakes the 1991 film of the same name, which starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. This version starred two not-so-well-known actors named Luke Bracey and Edgar Ramirez, who played Johnny Utah and Bodhi, the respective characters originally portrayed by Reeves and Swayze.

Rather than this be a direct remake, the movie’s plot has Utah, a former extreme sports athlete turned FBI agent, go after a gang of guys who are committing crimes in other parts of the world, such as dumping a huge pile of money in the air for people on the land to catch. In other words, this gang is trying “to give more than take.”

The gang is trying to achieve a goal in completing the “Ozaki 8,” which is a series of death-defying stunts pulled in various parts of the world as done by Ono Ozaki, a fictional eco-warrior who had done these stunts as a “path to enlightenment.”

The few positive qualities of this movie are hard to come by. One part is the shots in locale, as this movie was set in various parts such as Mexico, Austria, Germany and Venezuela. Also, one scene had some good cinematography when shot in the ocean while underwater, as well as over the water.

Another positive quality are the stunts that were shown. One scene that was well-executed was a scene involving skydiving in wingsuits, with the people flying in formation. Another was a scene involving snowboarding.

However, this film had plenty of flaws. One of the most notable flaws is the acting of the two leads, especially from Ramirez, who portrayed his character in such a monotonous and emotionless way that it was hard to see if he was trying to be evil or cool. He lacked charisma in his performance, seeming like he phoned it in.

Bracey, on the other hand, seemed like he tried to give a decent performance, but he lacked the emotion and charisma to make the audience care about him.

Another problem is the writing with the film. From the start of the film, it seemed like they jumped right into the main plot for Utah to go after the gang, rather than give some time to develop the story and characters.

For all the good in the stunts that were performed, it did not seem like there was any point (no pun intended) to the scenes with them.

Plus, for a good amount of time in the film, it seemed like the undercover investigation aspect of it was ignored in order to show the stunts pulled.

There was also a romantic subplot that was not believable in the least bit, with only a few scenes shown and then it was just forgotten about.

While the original was not a great movie per se, it has quite a following and it is enjoyable for its ridiculousness in some areas. Reeves’ acting was hammy at best in that version, as was Swayze’s. This film was just not that great in its execution.

It was nice to see them try something different, but how it was executed was another story. The film kind of felt a bit like 2002’s “XXX” with its extreme sports aspect. However, that film was better than this.

If there is any sort of remake of the 1991 original that would be worth watching, just watch the first “Fast & Furious” film as that is similar to that film. This film only shined on the stunts and location shots, but the rest of the film had a lot of problems.

Score: 2.5/5

Movie review two half

About Emanuel Espinoza (11 Articles)

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