Review: Point Break (2015)
Years after a
buddy (Max Thieriot) fell victim to a fatal motocross accident, causing him to
lose his nerve and retire, Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) has joined the FBI. Utah
has a wild theory on a series of robberies across several countries, believing
that the robbers are actually spiritually-inclined thrill-seekers who are
attempting to a hippy-dippy extreme sports ‘spiritual quest’ labelled the Ozaki
8. Basically, they’re not just thieves, they’re eco-terrorists. Utah attempts
to infiltrate the group, led by Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez), and before long he is
accepted into the brotherhood of Robin Hood-esque adrenaline junkies and their
philosophy. He also takes a liking to hanger-on Samsara (Teresa Palmer).
Meanwhile, his boss (Delroy Lindo) and FBI handler Pappas (Ray Winstone) are
concerned that he’s getting a little too close to his mark. Original “Point
Break” cast members Bojesse Christopher and James LeGros have brief cameos
as FBI bigwigs.
Directed by
Ericson Core (a cinematographer who worked on “Payback”, “The Fast
and the Furious” and “Daredevil”), there’s nothing wrong with this
2015 remake of the popular 1991 action flick, except that it’s just not good.
If you’re gonna remake a film that, arthouse classic or not, worked the first
time, you better at least find a way to make it comparable, better, or
interestingly different for your remake to be worthwhile. Core and screenwriter
Kurt Wimmer (who wrote and directed the fine “Salt” and “Equilibrium”
but also wrote the useless remake of “Total Recall” and the terrible “Street
Kings”) fail to do so. This isn’t awful, hell it’s not even a bad film.
It’s just not worth seeing, especially when there’s already a vastly superior
film named “Point Break” that people can watch. It’s pointless, if
you’ll excuse the groan-worthy pun.
The film doesn’t
start out like an adrenaline rush, as dirt-bike riding is so cool…if you’re 13.
The characters played by Luke Bracey and Max Thieriot are closer to 35. It’s
sad. However, credit where it’s due, this is dirt-bike riding turned up to 11.
It’s pretty dumb, but this is “Point Break”, after all. It’s supposed to
be pretty dumb. In fact, the best thing about the film is the action, which
eventually does reach some seriously reckless heights in keeping with the
ridiculosity (Which spellcheck needs to recognise as a word) of the basic
concept of the film: Thieves who are also adrenaline/risk junkies. Plot-wise
it’s much the same as the original, though with more of a back-story for Johnny
Utah. The shame with that is that Aussie soap star Luke Bracey is even more
dull than Keanu Reeves, if you can believe that. He’s bland and unpersuasive,
though I’ll at least credit him with the ability to do a convincing Yank
accent. He also does the ‘screaming and shooting in frustration’ scene slightly
less amusingly than Keanu did, in one of his weaker moments from the original.
However, it’s in the casting of Bodhi and his crew that the film truly falters.
Edgar Ramirez is a fine actor in the right role, this is far from the right
role though. He just isn’t Bodhi. Casting charmless and forgettable Europeans
(or South American in Ramirez’s case) in these roles which are already kind of
nondescript, was a huge misfire in my view. There’s a lot of grungy
homoeroticism between Utah and Bodhi, which some might find interesting, but I
just didn’t connect to these characters or performances as well as I did in the
original (where even Keanu was at least well-cast, if wooden).
Usually Ray
Winstone can be called upon to steal scenes with ease, but cast in the Gary
Busey role, he’s surprisingly forgettable. He also looks like he’s being forced
at gunpoint to appear in the film. The best performances in the entire film
come from Delroy Lindo and Aussie Teresa Palmer, who unlike Bracey gets to keep
her accent. Lindo, basically playing a benevolent version of the arsehole
superior officer character John C. McGinley brilliantly played in the original,
is rock-solid as ever. Palmer isn’t anything brilliant, but compared to the
leads, she’s at least acceptable and is certainly a much better ‘hot chick’
than tomboy-ish Lori Petty was in the original.
As shot by the
director himself, the film is slightly washed-out and monochromatic, but the
action scenes are especially well-filmed. Although it looks fake, the
base-jumping scene is a pretty cool update of the skydiving in the original.
That scene definitely works, and most of the other action moments are perfectly
fine, too. However, with not one interesting character, it’s awfully hard to
care at times.
It’s not a
terrible film (it’s better than the first “Fast and the Furious” film),
but this isn’t good, isn’t necessary, and does nothing to change your mind on
the latter. The action is good, the rest is a bit of a chore. It’s a lot of
cool, dumb stunts and not much else. Stick to the original, it still works.
Rating: C
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