I watched today Point Break in Navi Mumbai at Balaji movie complex. This is a remake of a movie by same name Point break(1991). The original movie was so good that I watched it twice but, this one was a disaster.
The story remains the same as the old one. At least for the most of the part. FBI agent Johnny Utah(substitute for Keanu Reeves) has to infiltrate a sports mad bunch of crooks led by the mystical Bodhi. It has some good action sequences but these are not enough.
I was enthusiastically exuberant about returning to what I’ve known as a cult classic, the original "Point Break". This reboot, is full of slick stunts and visuals, but the story, or lack thereof, makes this taste like pablum. I very seriously doubt that after two hours from getting out of the theater watching this, that anybody would even remember the name’s of the central characters in this film. Why, because the film maker neglected to give us a story where the characters are expounded and fleshed out beyond the 3 minutes for any resolute back-story on any of them. I appreciate the stunts and stunt people for their quality work involved, but stunts don’t make a movie. A good story, with quality characters that are inter-meshed with emotions and plots that pull the viewer into the characters’ world is what makes a memorable film. I’ll stick with the original "Point Break".
Point Break(2015) is just another needless remake. There are ideas that could have been utilized more, but it’s too burdened by both action movie clichés and the fact that it is being Point Break. It’s not a good undercover cop thriller, nor a good bromantic film. And you better off watching an actual stunt show, which at least doesn’t make you get through to its drab expositions and the fact that it’s more real and not embellished by any special effects. Then again, the effects aren’t bad, but that’s not the point. You may give it credit for heightening something from the original, but it doesn’t do that well either. The fact how unnatural the homages are made for this remake makes it even more frustrating to watch.
I was not expecting much from this movie. I was pleasantly surprised. The opening scene was too predictable to have the emotional impact it was going for, but the rest of the film did a good job of taking the core story of the original and using it to showcase some visually impressive stunts and extreme sports. This is not Shakespeare, so I was not expecting Oscar worthy performances. It delivered what I expected, and even found a way to keep the ending of the original film intact and even more visually stunning. Despite the similar story and wider array of stunts and extreme sports, this version was able to deliver a more family friendly film than the original. The original will always be a classic.