Le llaman Bodhi

Who misses Patrick Swayze - I know I do. He was always good in whatever movie but particularly in this one - such a wide range of acting. I hadn't seen it for years and it came up on tv so I recorded it so I can watch it over.

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.

On this face of it, this ought to be rubbish... a testosterone-fuelled story of beautiful people who rob banks to fund their hedonistic lifestyle that largely revolves around anything that causes their adrenalin to rush, but it isn't rubbish. Kathryn Bigelow keeps the pace end-to-end, and both Keanu Reeves ("Johnny Utah") and Patrick Swayze ("Bohdi") are clearly having fun as the FBI agent pursuing the gang of rubber mask clad "ex-president" beach-bum robbers. Reeves is easy on the eye, but pretty wooden and sure, the plot has more holes than a string vest but the story isn't meant to be deep and meaningful. This is just a fun adventure escapade that sees our hero go surfing, sky-diving and the cinematographer is clearly in his element, too. The ending, though cluttered up with some lovey-dovey nonsense, is actually quite exhilarating as the pair seem to develop just a little bit of a bromance... It's an updated variation on the traditional cops 'n robbers affair that offers much by way of escapism on a wet, wintry evening and ought to be judged accordingly.

Everything good from this movie comes from the absolute amazing fact that Reeves and Swayze are the leads. They give off the perfect 90s surfer frenemy vibes. The storyline is unique and a bit of a bloodbath near the end, but honestly a decent watch.

I really like Keanu Reeves. But boy, does Patrick Swayze steal the show. In what is maybe the most charismatic role of his career, he makes Keanu develop a serious man-crush on him, and we can all understand why Keanu couldn't do what he was about to do in one of the most iconic scenes of the film.

If only we had more directors like Kathryn Bigelow. This woman showed more balls in this one movie than most male directors will ever have in a lifetime. The shots are bold, dynamic; the directing is intense and energetic - I fell in love with this film and Kathryn Bigelow the moment I saw the first shots.

If you haven't already - please go watch this movie. It has aged very well - in fact, I feel like it hasn't lost any of its power, which in my book is a sign for an outstanding achievement. It feels as fresh as those waves it managed to capture in incredible style.