POINT BREAK

reviewed by Marc Gunn

Marc here, with the first of hopefully many reviews.

I'm going to start off with a film that I consider to be a modern day classic -Point Break.

The plot of the film is near enough your standard undercover cop seduced by the other side type of film. However, what sets PB apart from other films of that ilk is the testosterone filled action scenes i.e. surfing, skydiving and a high octane chase.

Reeves plays Johnny Utah a rookie FBI agent assigned to LA's bank robbery division. Gary Busey plays Utah's experienced partner (Papas) who for the past 2 1/2 years has been trying without much luck to catch a gang of robbers calling themselves the Ex-Presidents. In all the time that he has been investigating them he has only managed to turn up two clues.

1. The dates of the robberies (June-October each year) and

2. Sex wax.

With the information available, Papas believes that the gang are surfers because surfers use sex wax to wax their boards and also because the dates of the robberies mean that  it is strictly a summer gig for them.

Utah goes undercover as a surfer in order for him to infiltrate the gang. First though he must learn to surf and through learning he meets Tyler (Lori Petty) who teaches him the basics. As a result of surfing with Tyler, Utah meets Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) a Zen surfer who's the leader of a group who are searching for the ultimate rush, be it big wave riding or skydiving.

As Utah gets drawn into the daredevils world of night surfing/skydiving, the robberies are still ongoing and time is running out before the end of the summer season.

Can he get his men or  will he be converted to the other side?

This movie works well on almost every level, the casting is great and the music and photography really drag you into the action scenes.

If you've not seen this film, check it out a.s.a.p.!

If you have seen it and you agree or disagree with me, please let me know your opinions!