Point Break
Director: Kathryn Bigelow Run Time: 122 min. Format: 35mm Rating: R Release Year: 1991
Starring: Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze, Gary Busey, Lori Petty, John C. McGinley, James Le Gros
When a gang of masked stick-up men start holding up banks all over Los Angeles, the FBI sends a hotshot young agent named Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) on their trail. Following a left field hunch from his salty partner (Gary Busey), Utah starts combing the beach looking for surfers who might be motivated or crazy enough to light up banks for quick cash. Utah quickly finds his mark: a tight group of adrenaline junkies held together with the cultish charms of their leader Bodhi (Patrick Swayze).
Director Kathryn Bigelow’s best trick in Point Break is taking what could have been a crass and violent spectacle and giving it a new age twist. Bodhi’s gang is motivated by visceral thrills, but at heart, they’re a bunch of spiritualists trying to find God. Listen to them talk for long enough, and robbing a bank doesn’t seem like such a bad idea.