The Appeal of Point Break lives on

Point Break was the film that defined the 90’s and even to this day its hailed as a timeless classic.

No film in Hollywood can become an overnight success and sensation by accident, it takes a miracle for a film such as Point Break to be successful, financially, critically and most importantly click with audiences still to this day, after 30 years of its release.

Point Break in the action genre stood out not just because of its premise but because of its focus on its characters, giving the two leads incredibly fascinating dynamics. The meat of the film is at its most intense when the two clash. This film is deep and rich in action cinema and will provoke emotion for any audience member who is up for the experience.

Point Break went the extra mile in the action genre by creating and writing compelling characters with plenty of meat to get any audience member invested and that’s the USP and appeal of the film and why it stood out in the action genre.

Point Break’s Bodhi had a lot of depth and substance, his character really comes alive as the story progresses, providing us with action scenes that give us more bang for our buck.

The director is Kathryn Bigelow, who would later direct 2010’s best film, The Hurt Locker, a film made with great respect for its audience, brought a great deal of intensity and punch to the film as that is the only way to produce a film like this, you need that bravery and faith that your characters and themes will land and just go for it.

Most action films serve a simplistic service in an hour and 30 mins, afterward you don’t remember the characters but you may remember the action, Point break beautifully gets the best of both worlds, combining an unpredictably original plot with characters that are impeccably memorable even for a dramatic film regardless of the term action genre, with shoot outs in banks, car chases, well shot foot chases, jumping out of airplanes, surfing huge waves and hot dogs, never forget about the hot dog scene, you just gotta love Gary Busey.

In the pre-production process, the film seems to combines two different stars, one who is more relatable and upcoming in Keanu Reeves and the other, more experienced in Patrick Swayze, therefore there is an audience appeal for both and this shows on screen.

Point Break exists to take you on a cinematic journey like no other, to transport you to an action fueled ride that you may be able to experience in real life or not considering your status and health. The film is big in scale and size with its ideas and execution, featuring big action scenes, especially towards the end where the film escalates in narrative tension, mainly consisting of the rivalry between the two leads and Keanu’s love interest.

Its all a rocky combination for Johnny Utah and I think it’s just too much for him to cope with and quite frankly no one would be able to cope with the damage brought on his life, and seeing how hard he has to pick himself up in the film was entertaining to watch because he is a character that we root for, but also audiences root for Patrick Swayze, giving off great contrast.

In particular, the rugby scene is one of the films standout scenes for developing character. The sport symbolizes the competitiveness between the two and how physical they can get. This doesn’t compare to the last scene, where we have the two jumping out of the plane. It’s action, but its character drama at its heart and soul.

Keanu Reeves has a very likeable screen presence, he may not be an oscar actor but he isn’t supposed to be at this point. His likeability, charm, and intensity is what keeps you interested in his character.

The director, Kathryn Bigelow is one of hollywood’s best directors and she saw something really special with this project, the idea of blending two worlds together, including this care free surfing world where there are’nt really any consequences to that of a world of bank robbing and FBI investigation.

The thematic and visual contrast is blended together very intelligently, an interesting way to execute to what on paper is a straight forward popcorn action film, yet the film has a lot to offer. You may find yourself in awe of the surfing scenes, where you can go into full relaxation as you watch the beautiful waves swoosh by the camera to jumping out a plane.

This is helped by James Cameron who wrote the screenplay, who has a great eye for storytelling in the action genre, coming of the mega successful First Blood Part 2 and then only a year later with Terminator 2, proving again his talents.

Point Break is magnificently cinematic, with action scenes that feel real and big, surpassing all straight to DVD action flicks which seem to make up the genre’s market now a days, but its that central duo that makes the action count for something and that’s the real difference with Point Break.

By the time the film finishes, we also get a neat character arc from both characters, again just delivering a little more substance than a typical action flick, who end up in a deep seeded conflict, closing of the values they both stand and live by. Its intense and if you take away the action label, its real character drama on screen with two actors that are really going for it physically and mentally in the stormy weather, adding to the overall epicness of the picture. In that sense, the film is riddled with themes of toxic masculinity and what it means to be a man and the values that you live by that might break you in the long run. It is worth mentioning the remake in 2015, which felt like a sports advertising feature, which most audiences can agree with failed to impress.

Even to this day, Point Break is one of the very few action films where it has it all: drama, set pieces, comedy, intense performances, romance, 90’s fluff and yet at the same time, the film can be enjoyed even when you are not taking it seriously. It works for those who want to laugh at it and for those who want to watch an action film that has real stakes and embraces that tension. Not many action films nowadays has that flexible range of creativity, it’s just a lot of fun and a wild ride.

You can buy the film here.

You can catch Point Break on Amazon Prime for free.

Author Bio

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is p7160341.jpg

Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football.

Ranking the films of Peter Berg

Peter Berg is beginning to become one of Hollywood’s leading directors for true stories, lets’s take a look at his best work featuring a trio of top picks.

From directing the military-focused Battleship to working with high-list actors including Mark Whalberg in Lone Survivor, Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, Mile 22 and Spenser Confidential. In this article, we will discuss the work of Peter Berg and see where his films rank in no particular order.

Lets get ranking.

Context

Tarantino and Samuel L Jackson, Depp and Burton and now Wahlberg and Berg.

Although, Peter Berg has worked with a number of different actors and actresses, he has found a strong bond with Mark. The work of Peter Berg and Mark Wahlberg has entertained audiences of most genres for the last 5 to ten years, with their first feature being the war film Lone Survivor, which was a terrific debut.

They would later be involved with Deepwater Horizon, Patriots Day, Mile 22 and the recent Netflix released Spenser Confidential.

Their body of work has always been in the action genre, even when they adapt true stories, Deepwater Horizon and Patriots day, although are made to be emotionally serious to viewers, they both contain a sense of visual awe that is supposed to be exciting as well as dramatic to audiences.

Mile 22 and Spenser Confidential were examples of them making more B action film material and it didn’t impress audiences. Generally speaking, Peter Berg enjoys strong characters as his leads, one of them being Mark Whalberg who is able to combine vulnerability and power.

He is usually thrown into an extraordinary scenario’s where he puts his life at risk to save others, this is a severe contrast to some of his other roles such as The Departed.

The characters that he plays in Peter Berg’s movies are usually very likeable, other than Mile 22 and Spenser Confidential, where he plays a more rebellious role, which is a lot more in tune with the reputation he created earlier on in his career.

With all this said, what films do I recommend you watch from Peter Berg’s mighty filmography?

Although, I enjoyed Hancock, lets narrow our focus down to the 2010 period, with his directed film Battleship. Battleship was a mindless yet at times entertaining film with a serious love for the American military. Watch the film for the action and its at times no brains approach, featuring a selection of hard rock songs when the aliens start invading, yep you know what kind of film you are getting.

Lone Survivor

We now get to the good stuff, Lone Survivor was a fabulous debut, being adapted from an incredible true story of military bravery, featuring fantastic performances from the whole cast including Mark Whalberg. It’s a war film that touches the heart strings and pulls you right into the thick of the woods. The action is hard-hitting and intense, unlike any other war film I have seen with soldiers falling of cliffs and breaking limbs.

Its a film you have to see from beginning to end and as soon as the guns stat firing, you are fully locked in. Its another example of how cinema can be viewed as a hard knuckled experience.

You can buy the film here.

Deepwater Horizon

Showing in glorious 4K, Deepwater Horizon explosively arrived in cinemas in 2016, with a premise so shocking, it could only be told by Lone Survivor’s director Peter Berg. 

Another fantastic film adapting from a true story, only this time, the scope and scale have increased. Deepwater Horizon is the perfect film to watch on the big screen as we this disaster so tragically unfold. Like Lone Survivor, there is a lot of focus on bravery and heroism in this film, but the action and effects really sell the film. Although the film is helped massively by a veteran performance from Kurt Russell, this being one of his more dramatic performances in recent years, after his wickedly cool role in Guardians of the Galaxy.

If you are going to do a film like this, let this film be the definitive example. You may shed a tear and also be enthralled when the disaster kicks off. Even better, the film is showing for free on Amazon prime in 4K, go ahead and give it a shot, it’s more than tempting at this point.

Deepwater Horizon is currently the best-received film by critics, scoring an 83% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is the cinematic depiction of the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, which saw the loss of 11 lives.

You can buy the film here.

Patriots Day

Completing this trio of top-notch recommendations, we have another Wahlberg and Berg project, Patriots Day, of course being the film that adapted the Boston Bombings. This film wins the award for being the most intense and a lot of the intensity and drama don’t come from the action scenes, unlike the previous two. There are plenty of exciting investigation scenes where the dialogue feels very real and close to home.

We also have an exceptional cast full of oscar talent. It’s very well paced and a focused film that gives you most of the important facts of the case in a little over 2 hours, Wahlberg’s performance is again very solid, serving a character who is vulnerable and at times frantic in attempting to make the right decision as we see the police force hopelessly chase one of Boston’s most infamous criminals.

The tone was perfect, a dramatic yet heroic telling which ultimately leads to a positive and thematic end. We get some messages about the power of teamwork and humanity in the film that audiences will be able to take from and that’s the power of cinema right there.

You can buy the film here.

To this day, these 3 films are his best work, with Mile 22 offering mild thrills from an action point of view. These three films have heart, drama, scale, love and power embedded in each outing.

Author Bio

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is p7160341.jpg

Sam is a content writer. He loves all elements connected with film and writes with passion, always. You can find him on Linkedin, where you will be able to read more articles. When he is not writing, you can find him practicing football.

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