I know, I know, we've all seen it. I'm not breaking new boundaries or broadening too many minds by recommending Point Break, but have you watched it lately? It not only sits perfectly with this week's surfer noir novel, Tapping the Source, but it stands as the kind of thrilling, non dark action movie our Summer needs. A bevy of pop culture gems in this thing: “Vaya con Dios”, “I am an FBI agent!”, “Two, Utah, get me two“?
Reeves and Swayze, wet torso fighting, bank robberies, bromances between extreme dudes, exciting foot chases, and angry police chiefs – all the things you want are here. There are also those things you didn't even know you wanted like Lori Petty as a love interest and two, count them two, sky diving sequences.
Point Break is so much fun to watch and if the fawning documentaries on the DVDs are any indication, it was a blast to make too. Everyone associated with making it has nothing but fond memories for this sleeper hybrid. Originally Johnny Depp (according to the doc) or Matthew Broderick (according to wikipedia) was cast as Johnny Utah and they had even begun shooting when the plug was pulled.
Fortunately the story didn't end there and Kathryn Bigelow picked up the project and ran with it to great lengths of stupendousness. She's also the director of the pretty awesome Near Dark, but sadly since James Cameron dumped her, isn't directing as much despite her formidable talents. What a shame because as silly as it may sound, it takes vision to put such brazen action sequences together. It takes vision to turn a potentially absolutely ridiculous dud into the action packed gem that's won the hearts of my entire generation male and female (see the tradition carried on Live if you can). In short, I miss her.
This and Tapping the Source have immersed me in surfing this past week, an activity I will never likely part take in, but one that is great to watch and read about. I will skip listening to it though, if it sounds like Point Break's soundtrack, a mess of b-side Concrete Blonde and embarrassing classic rock covers that fails to have that timeless quality of the movie.
But what do you think?