Point Break was on last night. It’s still one of my favorite action movies. Who can ever forget the legendary Patrick Swayze as Bodhi? The leader of the Ex Presidents who surf by night and rob banks by day to stick it to the establishment.
How I miss Swayze. He was such a good actor. Having been in other hits such as The Outsiders, Dirty Dancing, Road House and Ghost, I still love the bad ass he plays as Bodhi in Point Break.
He befriends FBI agent Johnny Utah, expertly played by Keanu Reeves. Reeves is assigned by older partner Pappas, who’s wonderfully portrayed by Gary Busey. Utah’s assignment is to learn how to surf due to their speculation that the Ex Presidents are a gang of surfers.
Also cool is seeing the Red Hot Chili Peppers playing a part in the movie as other surfers who Special Agent Utah thinks are behind the bank robberies. As it turns out, they’re drug dealers with weapons that have been tracked for a while. They blow their case, but take down Anthony Kiedis and his gang to ruin the DEA operation. Utah and his partner Pappas get chewed out by the nerdy FBI director, who’s played by John C. McGinley. He always seems to play lame characters. Why?
In any event, as Utah gets closer with Bodhi’s ex girlfriend Tyler (Lori Petty), he becomes drawn into their world. A former star college football quarterback, whose career ended due to tearing up his knee, he’s recognized by Bodhi, who mentors him on owning the waves. They hangout by the beach and even play a friendly game of football. In a symbolic scene, Utah races to track down a sprinting Bodhi, tackling him into the water. Punches are thrown before things settle down.
It’s when Utah sees all four together surfing on a big wave like one unit that he realizes they might just be the Ex Presidents he and Pappas are looking for. Approached by Tyler, she notices a blank look on his face and says, “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.” He says he has to go and makes up an excuse so he can meet with Pappas.
They start tracking them. Eventually, while just scoping out a bank, Pappas asks Utah to get him two meatball sub sandwiches. “The best I’ve ever tasted. … Utah. Get me two!”
It’s one of the most memorable lines due to Busey improvising. There are videos you can find on YouTube of people imitating it sarcastically. The funny aspect is Utah notes that it’s 10:30 in the morning and his partner wants lunch. As he goes to pickup the order that includes two large lemonades, out come the Ex Presidents in their cool attire. There’s Reagan, Nixon, Johnson and Carter. It’s comical how they put the rubber masks on and go into all business mode as they hit the bank. They quickly order everyone to get down and pull off another quick heist. Then are running back to their red car. I think a Cadillac when Utah spots them and interrupts Pappas’ meatball lunch.
An insane chase ensues. They even bang cars, but after Pappas crashes their car, Utah takes off on foot. Sure enough, Bodhi, Roach, Nathaniel and Rosie decide to switch cars at a gas station. He threatens motorists with gas and a lighter ready to light up the whole place on fire, which he does to their old car that causes a wild explosion. But with him continuing to horse around, his partners are growing impatient telling him, “Let’s Go!” That’s Bodhi though. Crazy, which is why Swayze was perfect for the role. He also did his own stunts including over 50 jumps.
Eventually, Reeves’ character Utah catches Bodhi and jumps on top of him. While Bodhi’s buddies take off in their new vehicle, a great foot chase follows with Utah on Bodhi’s tracks. They race through so many backyards and homes that it defies logic. But that’s also what makes it great. Bodhi tosses a big dog on Utah, which he fights off. He also gets hit by an angry lady, who’s terrified. Eventually, it leads to Bodhi making a big jump down below. Unfortunately, Utah trips and falls to reinjure his knee. Down on the ground with Bodhi staring at him from a distance through his mask, he doesn’t take the shot. Instead, he watches Bodhi escape by climbing around barbed wire. Then fires bullets skyward in anger.
It’s intense. There are many wild scenes, but maybe none as much as Bodhi pretending nothing happened. He wakes up Utah and takes him skydiving with the other three. Utah must go along with it. By now, they know who each other are, but are not indicating it. It’s like a big game to Bodhi. One he plays well. They get into an airplane and jump, parachuting into the sky. As they describe, it’s beautiful and amazing. They band together to touch hands with Utah swimming towards them, then use their shoots to land in the sea.
It’s at that point that Bodhi reveals his insurance policy that has Utah’s girlfriend Tyler in Mexico under capture. He says if they don’t get there in time, she dies. Even crazier, they include Utah in one more bank robbery. Bodhi jokes that they don’t have any more masks before they go in. That means Johnny Utah. An FBI agent will be seen on camera taking part in their bank job. He just tells people to stay down and not do anything.
However, Bodhi decides to have them go to the vault. Something they never do. This allows a undercover cop who’s off duty enough time to have a security guard cover him and get off a few shots. It really does to hell fast for Bodhi, who sees his brother die all bloody. He loses it. Then kills the off duty cop with two to the chest. Cold blooded. There are shots exchanged with another friend getting hit.
As Bodhi storms off angrily, he sucker punches Utah knocking him out cold and then leaves with the remaining two, who are still alive. Their next stop is the airport to Mexico. Utah knows this and after Pappas owns the loser FBI Director in one of the funniest moments, they go after them. Unfortunately, he tells Pappas they can’t shoot them due to Tyler being held hostage. Pappas has a chance to shoot after they split up, but is blocked by Utah.
It goes terribly wrong as Bodhi kills Utah’s partner and he screams while paying his last respects. Bodhi then orders Utah to get up. It’s time to go. They get on the plane. With Roach seriously wounded during the previous shootout that killed both Pappas and Nathanial, it’s just him, Bodhi and Utah on the flight. They take the two remaining parachutes and jump. Utah can either stay there or do something drastic.
He chooses to jump out of the plane and with a gun, use his new knowledge of the sky and land on top of Bodhi. It puts them in a awkward situation. Bodhi warns Utah that if anything happens to him, Tyler dies. As they fall dangerously close within 1000 feet, Utah is forced to pull the eject button which results in both landing hard. For Utah, that’s not good as he again messes up his bad knee. Bodhi recognizes it. He orders Rosie to set Tyler free.
Afterwards, as Tyler hugs an injured Utah, who doesn’t have any words, Bodhi calls out to Utah, telling him he’ll see him in the next life. He and Rosie take off celebrating as they have the money. As for poor Roach, he died from his wounds.
To be honest, when Bodhi says that line, I thought that could’ve been the ending. Maybe Utah wasn’t meant to as Bodhi puts it, “Get his guy and be a hero.”
Instead, they had an even better idea. The scene shifts to a 50-year storm in Australia. Bodhi has always been about surfing and taking the biggest risks. Utah, who’s now working with the Australian task force, knows he wouldn’t miss a 50-Year Storm. Sure enough as other Aussies are coming back from the beach with one saying it’s like being a dead fish, Special Agent Utah finds Bodhi standing by himself near the ocean.
He eventually comes up to him and playfully tosses his Reagan mask next to him and says, “Lose something, bro?” That cool surfer humor. Bodhi talks about how life sure does have a sick sense of humor. Utah informs him that he just missed him in Fiji and that Rosie ran into a bigger knife, he must take him in.
“You gotta go down,” he says. “That’s how it’s gotta be.” Bodhi says no and admits he couldn’t survive in a cage. Eventually, it leads to a clash which was much better than the prelude they had after beach football. They fight in the water and eventually, Utah gets the handcuffs on Bodhi, who yells, “No!”
What happens next is pretty epic. As the Australian force is closing in, Bodhi pleads with Utah and says, “My whole life has been about this moment. Let me get one wave before you take me. … Where am I gonna go? There are cliffs on both sides. I’m not gonna paddle to New Zealand!”
Utah realizes that his former friend has a point. He also knows if he lets him go, he’ll get to go his way by surfing on gigantic waves before crashing to an ending. So, he unlocks him and says, “Vaya Con Dios.” It means Go With God.
As he gets screamed at by angry Australian officers with bad fake accents, one says they’ll get him when he comes back in. To which Johnny Utah deadpans, “He’s not coming back.”
He then walks away and chucks his badge and the movie ends and goes into Ratt’s, “Nobody Rides For Free.” A perfect ending song and cool video with great highlights from the movie above.
It’s one of those movies you love due to the scenes and great lines. It’s well directed and produced with great performances from Swayze and Reeves. Petty was also good as Tyler. And Busey was tremendous as Utah’s partner Pappas.
Everytime it comes on, I watch if I’m not busy. It never gets old. You find yourself laughing and enjoying it. That’s what makes Point Break great. I can’t believe they remade it. That sucked. You can’t remake a good movie unless you have the talent and a similar plot. Cape Fear being one of the exceptions due to the eccentric Robert De Niro. Plus you had Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange and a young Juliette Lewis.
HITTING BACK 