Point Break

The original was a great movie with classic actors. Sure it's dated today, but still carries it's own weight. This movie while containing some visually stunning cinematography, some how manages to just drag and drag. As others have commented it comes of like a commercial. The special affects don't seem that special. It's like you are watching a commercial with snowboarding and sky diving designed to sell Redbull. While I should be in awe at what they are doing on screen, i find myself yawning and wondering when is it all just going to end. There is no real tension building, no sense of fear that Utah will be discovered, unlike the original, where his cover was about to be blown with each scene. I highly recommend passing on this one, it's a borefest.

Either you make a sequel or a remake it is inevitable to compare it with the original. All too often a remake has nothing to do with the original except maybe the names of the characters involved.

Pretty much this is the case of Point Break (2015).

The "original" Point Break was a multilayer action movie. The romantic element was stronger, its purpose more clear, the fine line a deep undercover agent could cross and lose himself more evident and, because that matters the most in this cases, more fun.

In the "contemporary" version you are going to see some wild landscapes, including Angel Falls in Venezuela, Caineville in Utah and the Swiss Alps missing in the original. Yet the greenish over-sharped image, chosen by Ericson Core who serves both as the director and as cinematographer, dilutes their majestic natural appearance and makes them look artificial.

The movie also talks, in the beginning, about nirvana and spiritual enlightenment but in the end fails to emit such feelings towards the viewers.

So is it bad? Well no I wouldn't say that. it us a totally different beast. More raw, even more dramatic but with far less wit and charisma.

The cast isn't stellar. I wouldn't compare Ray Winstone with the ...shadow of the tongue-in-chic Pappas (Gary Busey) of the first installment. Neither Teresa Palmer is the smart-mouthed Lori Petty. All the characters are pretty much wooden and one dimensional.

Overall: I would say to check it out for the impressive stunts and landscapes, but the sharp and green cinematography ruined that for me. No real substance in the fun department or the performances either.

A Gen Z update to Kathryn Bigelow's 1991 cult classic, this remake is essentially an episode of Fast and Furious in which the vehicular exploits have been replaced with an assortment of extreme sports sequences. Constructed with an alarming amount of real footage and physical stunt work, the numerous action set pieces are rather impressive; a high octane wing-suit gliding scene and the tension-building rock climbing finale topping the list. Yet the impact of these daredevil stunts is wasted on a film that fails on almost every other level. Stemming from Kurt Wimmer's truly awful screenplay, every second not spent traversing a mountainside, soaring through the air or surfing a mammoth wave is cringe worthy and/or yawn inducing. Wimmer's dialogue attempts to be philosophical and Zen-like, but with clichéd stinkers like "the only law is gravity" and "everyone dies, it's just a matter of how", it's nothing short of unintentionally hilarious. Replacing the eternally cool Patrick Swayze was always going to be tough, however Edgar Ramirez does a solid job as charismatic eco-warrior Bohdi. The same can't be said for low-budget-Chris-Hemsworth hunk Luke Bracey though, who is so wooden as Johnny Utah he makes Keanu Reeves look like Daniel Day Lewis. This modern update boasts a handful of genuinely fantastic action sequences, yet they're not enough to warrant a recommendation in what is otherwise a limp and incoherent thriller.

If you like those 3 or 5 minute GoPro or Red Bull videos of people doing extreme sports then you will certainly like most of the movie as a lot of it is exactly that - and to be sure, those moments were pretty cool to watch and very well done.

Unfortunately, in between all of those moments is a pretty boring plot line with characters that you never really care about.

If you like mindless action (nothing wrong with that) then you will probably like this movie - although most of the "action" is extreme sports, not really guns.

Apparently I have to write at least ten lines of text, but honestly there isn't much more to say about the movie!

Imagine the intense stunts from energy drink commercial or Youtube extreme sport montage while music from Mad Max blares on background. This is where the second coming of Point Break truly excels. When it hits just the right velocity, it's bloody breathtaking. Unfortunately, the narrative is not only poor, it nearly sabotages the movie like a broken parachute.

Story revolves around Utah (Luke Bracey), an FBI trainee as he investigates a series of heists and their connection to a group of athletes led by Bodhi (Édgar Ramírez). As one might expect, it follows the same trail that Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze has placed. The new leads do what they can, although it's better to watch this without comparing, because it certainly doesn't have the same caliber of star or chemistry.

The plot then dives head first into uncharted territory. It's littered with so much "save the planet" preachy acts as the writing struggles to place FBI agent in the hippie nirvana angle. The motivation is just a mess of random vague one-liners, even the on-screen characters are perplexed by it. There's a romance subplot, but this is mainly to show the attractive Teresa Palmer as eye candy for several short scenes.

The movie is actually better when they just show the crazy sequences instead of forcing its lackluster story. It has plethora of impressive feats, from high heaven wingsuit flying, the climb on hazardous urban streets and natural cliffs, to the surfing of gigantic waves. This is the level of stunt choreography xXx and Fast and Furious wish they had.

When camera pans into the right angle and lighting, as the sounds is muffled by throbbing tune of the fast music, Point Break reaches the zenith. It's miles beyond what typical action flick could offer, but sadly it's repeatedly interrupted by the shoddy story, which feels like an excuse to fly across the globe to do random cool tricks.

If viewed only on the grand mix of cinematography and choreography, Point Break is exquisite, this would have been a great documentary of extreme sport. However, as action movie, the story is so pretentious, it simply serves as speed bump to hamper the thrill.