Point Break
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.
What critics thought
Point Break landed in mixed-to-moderate critical territory on release, with most reviewers agreeing that Kathryn Bigelow's direction and the film's set pieces — particularly the surfing sequences — are viscerally powerful, while the script's macho mysticism and surplus of surf-speak divided them sharply. The central question critics kept circling was whether the film's philosophical pretensions elevate its pulpy genre mechanics or simply drown them.
“A lot of what Bigelow puts up on the screen bypasses the brain altogether, plugging directly into our viscera, our gut. The surfing scenes in particular are majestically powerful, even awe-inspiring. Bigelow's picture is a feast for the eyes, but we watch movies with more than our eyes. She seduces us, then asks us to be bimbos.”
Hal Hinson·The Washington Post
“So how do you rate a stunningly made film whose plot buys so blithely into macho mysticism that it threatens to turn into an endless bummer? Looks 10, Brains 3.”
Richard Corliss·Time
“Its purely visceral material (surf sounds, skydiving stunt work, a tough indoor shootout midway through) are first-rate. As for the tangibles that matter even more (script, acting, directorial control, credible relationships between characters), Break defies belief. Dramatically, it rivals the lowest surf yet this year.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
“Bigelow is an interesting director for this material. She is interested in the ways her characters live dangerously for philosophical reasons. They aren't men of action, but men of thought who choose action as a way of expressing their beliefs.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Bigelow can't keep the film from drowning in a sea of surf-speak. But without her, Point Break would be no more than an excuse to ogle pretty boys in wet suits.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Accolades
Genres
Action, Crime, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Kathryn BigelowDirector
Keanu ReevesAgent Johnny Utah
Patrick SwayzeBodhi / Mask President
Lori PettyTyler Endicott
Gary BuseyAgent Angelo Pappas
John C. McGinleySAIC Ben Harp
James Le GrosRoach
John PhilbinNathanial
BoJesse ChristopherGrommet
Lee TergesenRosie
Chris PedersenBunker
Vincent KlynWarchild
Julian ReyesAgent Alvarez
Mark IshamComposer
Donald PetermanCinematographyPoint Break
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could be surfers, the F.B.I. sends young agent Johnny Utah to the beach undercover to mix with the surfers and gather information.
What critics thought
Point Break landed in mixed-to-moderate critical territory on release, with most reviewers agreeing that Kathryn Bigelow's direction and the film's set pieces — particularly the surfing sequences — are viscerally powerful, while the script's macho mysticism and surplus of surf-speak divided them sharply. The central question critics kept circling was whether the film's philosophical pretensions elevate its pulpy genre mechanics or simply drown them.
“A lot of what Bigelow puts up on the screen bypasses the brain altogether, plugging directly into our viscera, our gut. The surfing scenes in particular are majestically powerful, even awe-inspiring. Bigelow's picture is a feast for the eyes, but we watch movies with more than our eyes. She seduces us, then asks us to be bimbos.”
Hal Hinson·The Washington Post
“So how do you rate a stunningly made film whose plot buys so blithely into macho mysticism that it threatens to turn into an endless bummer? Looks 10, Brains 3.”
Richard Corliss·Time
“Its purely visceral material (surf sounds, skydiving stunt work, a tough indoor shootout midway through) are first-rate. As for the tangibles that matter even more (script, acting, directorial control, credible relationships between characters), Break defies belief. Dramatically, it rivals the lowest surf yet this year.”
Mike Clark·USA Today
“Bigelow is an interesting director for this material. She is interested in the ways her characters live dangerously for philosophical reasons. They aren't men of action, but men of thought who choose action as a way of expressing their beliefs.”
Roger Ebert·Chicago Sun-Times
“Bigelow can't keep the film from drowning in a sea of surf-speak. But without her, Point Break would be no more than an excuse to ogle pretty boys in wet suits.”
Peter Travers·Rolling Stone
Accolades
Genres
Action, Crime, Thriller
Cast & Crew
Kathryn BigelowDirectorKeanu ReevesAgent Johnny UtahPatrick SwayzeBodhi / Mask PresidentLori PettyTyler EndicottGary BuseyAgent Angelo PappasJohn C. McGinleySAIC Ben HarpJames Le GrosRoachJohn PhilbinNathanialBoJesse ChristopherGrommetLee TergesenRosieChris PedersenBunkerVincent KlynWarchildJulian ReyesAgent AlvarezMark IshamComposerDonald PetermanCinematography