Point Break (1991)
Point Break is a 1991 American action film directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by W. Peter Iliff. It stars Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The film’s title refers to the surfing term “point break”, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. The film features Reeves as an undercover FBI agent who is tasked with investigating the identities of a group of bank robbers while he develops a complex relationship with the group’s leader (Swayze). Development of Point Break began in 1986, when Iliff wrote an initial treatment for the film.
Bigelow soon developed the script with husband James Cameron, and filming took place four years later. It was shot across the western coast of the continental United States and was officially budgeted at $24 million, before being released on July 12, 1991.
Point Break opened to generally positive reviews, with critics praising the chemistry between Reeves and Swayze. During its theatrical run, the film grossed over $83.5 million, and has since gained a cult following. Following the film’s success, it spawned a remake that was released in 2015.
Plot:
Former Ohio State quarterback and rookie FBI agent Johnny Utah assists Agent Angelo Pappas in investigating a string of bank robberies by the “Ex-Presidents”: robbers who wear rubber masks of former presidents Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Richard Nixon, and Lyndon B. Johnson. Rather than robbing the vault, they only demand the cash the tellers have in their drawers and are gone within ninety seconds. Pursuing Pappas’s theory that the criminals are surfers, Utah infiltrates the surfing community.
He fabricates a family tragedy to persuade orphaned surfer and restaurant waitress Tyler to teach him to surf, after she saves him from drowning during his first attempt. Through her, he meets Bodhi, the leader of a gang of surfers consisting of Roach, Grommet, and Nathaniel. The group is wary of Utah, but they accept him when Bodhi recognizes him as a former college football star who quit due to a knee injury. As he masters surfing, Utah finds himself drawn to the surfers’ adrenaline-charged lifestyle, Bodhi’s philosophies, and Tyler.
