Point Break

The Next Reel Film Podcast

"It’s a state of mind."

Kathryn Bigelow already showed everyone that she could handle action in her films with projects like Near Dark and Blue Steel when she and her husband-at-the-time James Cameron took on the task of doing rewrites to her new project Johnny Utah. With Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves coming on board to play the two leads, she was ready to prove herself yet again. And while she didn’t walk away with a film as successful as Cameron’s T2, she did end up with one of her highest grossing films and a cult classic that defined action films and surfing for years to come. Join us – Pete Wright and Andy Nelson – as we continue our Kathryn Bigelow series with her 1991 film Point Break.

We talk about how well this film holds up despite the years of mocking we gave it. We chat about Bigelow and how well she handles bank robbery action while balancing it brilliantly with the zen attitudes of the surfers. We look at what Reeves and Swayze bring to the table, as well as Lori Petty and national treasure Gary Busey. We compare the film with the 2015 remake, which largely doesn’t work as well as Bigelow’s film (even if it still is fun to watch). We discuss the foot chase sequence that involves a dog being thrown as well as the iconic moment of Reeves shooting his gun into the air and screaming “Arrrrhhh!”, and why the scene holds so much weight in this film and in action films to come. We touch on Swayze and his real skydiving moment that gives an authenticity to the film. And we revel in the delight of knowing about the cult play in which the Utah role is cast from the audience and asked to read their role from cue cards.

Point Break is a really fun film that is of its time without feeling dated. We have a great time talking about it and revel in the joy that it’s much better than we remembered. So check it out then tune in! The Next Reel – when the movie ends, our conversation begins.

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• Script Transcript
• Original theatrical trailer
• Original poster artwork
• Flickchart
• Letterboxd