POINT BREAK
A film review by Frank Maloney
Copyright 1991 Frank Maloney
POINT BREAK is a movie by Kathryn Bigelow. The script is by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, and Lori Petty.
If I were one of those professional, cynical, go-for-the-joke critics, I would suggest retitling POINT BREAK "Beach Blanket Burglary." Instead, I'm going to say that this is an acceptable summer movie with some good action photography of the ENDLESS SUMMER school, a nutty, preposterous story -- excessive, fun, but a little too long. And it has some interesting people in the cast.
The directory Kathryn Bigelow, who previously directed BLUE STEEL, has turned out a slightly schizoid movie that's rather funny in the first part and hyperviolent in the second part. The script is a joke about surfers financing their "endless summer" by donning rubber masks, doing Tricky Dick imitations, and robbing 30 banks in 4 years, and about two FBI agents, the burnt-out vet (Gary Busey) and the new hot-shot (Keanu Reeves) who track them down. Cinematography is by Donald Peterman, who gives us some great zoom-lens work on mountainous surf and who also gives a truly impressive sky-diving sequence. Unfortunately, Bigelow lets the movie run down at the end and gets pretty sloppy about continuity. She also use an Oregon coast locale as a budget-saving stand-in for Australia. I spotted it instantly and anyone who knows either place will too.
She does get a funny performance out of Swayze, who is not the star of this movie, despite his top billing. Reeves carries it, as best he can. I think the jury is still out on this particular Brat Packer. Swayze plays the leader of the Ex-Presidents Gang, a pseudo-mystical guru of b.s. who justifies his violence, felonies, and betrayals as inspiring all us "dead souls inching along the freeways in their metal coffins." It was good to see Swayze in a negative role. Swayze did a lot of his own stunts--at least the easy parts that required only a beginner's skills--but that is him on the board and him going out the plane door. He's a gutsy guy, and I will admit to a sneaking admiration for him. (But then, I liked ROAD HOUSE.)
Gary Busey does a good turn as the alternately time-serving hack and obsessed pro; he is wigged-out and screwy. Busey is a lot of fun to have in any movie.
And then there's the fresh surprise, Lori Petty, who plays the surfer who first teaches Reeves and then sleeps with him. I liked this woman a lot. She has presence and a distinctive voice; she's small and pretty in a perky, independent way. She leaves a group of male surfers talking about their death wishes with the line "There's too much testosterone here." I hope to see her again.
(Anybody who knows neat stuff about Petty, write me. I'm interested (no, not in that way, silly).)
There're a lot of f-words, a lot of splashy violence, no nudity (except in one very violent FBI raid, where is there is women in a shower and another in a thong), no sex as such, a lot of action, some humor. You might like to take this one in, but pay matinee rates only. It is not worth full fare. Or wait for the video and relive the summer next winter.
(Rated R for excessive violence and strong language.) -- Frank Richard Aloysius Jude Maloney .
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