Point Break (2015)

"Point Break" stars Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez, Teresa Palmer, and Ray Winstone. Released on December 25, 2015, the film is about an FBI agent who goes undercover with a group of thieves who have a knack for extreme sports.

The film is directed by Ericson Core, who served as the cinematographer for The Fast and the Furious. It is a remake of the 1991 film of the same name, which starred Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. I find it a bit odd that an action film like this would be released around Christmas time, but hey, it's never too late to have a couple of thrill rides this holiday season. When I saw the trailer for this film, I thought it looked pretty cool in terms of the stunts. However, I have no experience with the original 1991 film, so I'm going to be reviewing this remake as its own film without comparing the two together.

Luke Bracey plays the role of Johnny Utah, a former motocross star turned FBI agent who is assigned to go undercover inside a group of professional athletes lead by Bodhi, played by Ramirez. I thought Bracey was fine in the role, but he could've done a bit better with his performance. There were some parts in the film where he almost sounded like Chris Hemsworth when he's speaking a little deeper. I mean, for all I know, he could be the long-lost brother of Chris and Liam Hemsworth (Hemsworth Brothers, unite!!!). The only problem with this was the chemistry between the other characters, but I'll get to that later. The film is known for portraying extreme sports such as skydiving, surfing and free climbing. Now, to its credit, I really enjoyed watching these people perform these stunts, especially on how they were filmed. I also liked the choice of locations where these stunts were performed, but I wish the director would give us more time to express the dizzying sights of being high into the air.

Even though the stunts were pretty impressive, I am not a huge fan on how they executed the story. At times the film's pacing can be a bit slow and at other times the narrative structure feels so rushed that it didn't give me enough time to grow attached to the characters or at least give them time to develop. There were also a couple of things that I think were a bit too forced. The first one being the relationship between Johnny and one of the members of the gang, Samsara (played by Teresa Palmer). It felt like they just put it there for the sake of moving the plot along. I think if you remove the unnecessary romance stuff, it won't change the film at all. There's also a scene that it felt like they tried to force some emotional depth in the film. I won't spoil it for you in case you haven't seen it yet, but if you have, you might understand what I mean. Like I said in my Victor Frankenstein review, they need to have the right amount of pacing and the right screenplay to give us time to care more about the main characters. Otherwise, what's the point of having these characters to begin with?
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Overall, the 2015 edition of "Point Break" offered some impressive stunt work and locations, but the story was so poorly executed and forced that it made The Fast and the Furious look like a masterpiece by comparison. Come to think of it, both Point Break and The Fast and the Furious share a similar storyline. Oooo, I just figured out the title for the next Fast and Furious film: 'The Fast and the Furious: Breaking Point' (LOL). But back to the topic at hand, I was really disappointed on how it turned out and I felt sorry for the people who worked hard on making a new version of Point Break for a new generation. I appreciate them for what they're trying to do, but sadly, it's not good enough. If you're still curious on seeing this, then I would say it's worth watching for the stunt work alone and nothing else. If you like this film more than I do, then I respect your opinion. EXTREME! (not really, LOL)

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