![]() Johnny injures his knee during the chase, but has a clean shot at the perpetrator. Three of the robbers make it to the getaway car before Pappas and Johnny intervene, and Johnny pursues the fourth robber on foot. They conduct a stakeout outside a bank when it is robbed by the Ex-Presidents. Pappas and Johnny determine that, based on the group’s history, the Ex-Presidents will hit one more bank before the end of the summer. Worse yet, Harp chews out Johnny and Pappas because the surfers were under investigation by the DEA and the sting has blown the DEA’s operation. They find a huge stash of drugs in the house, but no evidence that this group were the bank robbers. The FBI raids the house of the violent surfers and a bloody altercation ensues. Johnny ultimately implicates a group of violent surfers (cameo by Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Anthony Kiedis) as the Ex-Presidents. He also begins dating Tyler and the two fall in love. Johnny begins bonding with Bodhi and his group and becomes proficient in surfing, even surviving a dangerous night-surf with Bodhi. Bodhi talks about his dream of flying to Australia the next year and surfing the massive waves that will be caused by a predicted 50-year storm. While learning to surg, Johnny meets a surfer-babe named Tyler (Lori Petty) who teaches him and introduces him to her ex-boyfriend, a surfer-philosopher named Bodhi (Patrick Swayze). Bodhi leads a group of surf-buddies, including Roach, Nathanial, and Grommet. McGinley) to let Johnny learn how to surf and go undercover. With Johnny’s help, they convince their skeptical and ill-tempered boss Ben Harp (John C. Pappas has a theory that the group is composed of surfers because, amongst other reasons, the robberies only occur during the summer. The robbers are notable for never breaking into the vaults of the banks they rob, committing the crimes in 90 second, disappearing immediately afterwards, and never killing anyone. They are investigating a string of robberies committed by a group called the Ex-Presidents, who rob banks while wearing rubber masks of former presidents Reagan, Johnson, Carter, and Nixon. Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is a recent graduate from Quantico and is a rookie agent for the Los Angeles FBI offices. Johnny was a Quarterback at Ohio State until a knee injury derailed his career. He is assigned to the bank robbery division and partnered with jaded cop Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey). Johnny walks away after throwing his badge into the ocean. Instead of taking him in, Johnny grants Bodhi’s last wish and releases him to surf the giant storm waves (where he dies). When one of the surfer goons accidentally blasts off his own foot, you almost forget you're watching a movie where Keanu Reeves brings a surfboard to his office.Johnny Utah tracks Bodhi to Australia and arrests him. It's a complicated set piece enlivened by small, funny details like the agents' walkie-talkies becoming useless because of a nearby lawn mower, the perilous presence of a naked woman in the shower, and that funny mirror device Keanu uses to see inside. With Busey coming through the front door pretending to look for his lost dog, two dopey FBI red shirts covering the back door, and Keanu hiding near the side of the house so he doesn't blow his cover, Bigelow slowly turns up the heat by cutting between the action inside the house and the anxiety of the team outside. When the FBI goes after Anthony Kiedis and the rest of his gang, mistaking them for the bank-robbing Ex-Presidents that have been terrorizing Los Angeles banks, Bigelow gets the chance to put on a master class in tension, action-movie staging, and dark humor. In a warm-up for The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow stages one stomach-churning raid sequence in the film that points to her future as the undisputed champ of pulse-pounding, militarized suspense. Like in Road House, he plays a character with a zen-like quality who also has the capacity for brutal, throat-ripping violence. Has any actor so fully embodied every New Age truth at once? Watching him in Point Break is a bit like listening to an Enya song, staring at a crystal, and doing one-armed pull-ups at the same damn time. With his slicked-back hair, deadpan delivery, and, "Hey, you wanna check out my band Dogstar?" charm, Reeves is the perfect audience surrogate, bringing the viewer into both the macho world of the FBI and the mysterious realm of surfers with laid-back ease.Īnd then there's Swayze. Despite Reeves' reputation for vacant stares and lunk-headed line readings, his calming blankness brings a stabilizing force to Point Break. They’re the ridiculous, over-the top monikers that require ridiculous, over-the-top performers to bring them to life - actors like Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze, specifically. Johnny Utah and Bodhi: now those are movie-character names.
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