Point Break is a 1991 American action crime film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Lori Petty and Gary Busey. The title refers to the surfing term point break, where a wave breaks as it hits a point of land jutting out from the coastline. RiffTrax released their riff in October 2006.
Synopsis and Preview[]
RiffTrax w Mike Nelson - Point Break
[Spoilers Begin]
Johnny Utah is a former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback and rookie FBI Agent. He and his veteran partner, Angelo Pappas, are investigating a string of bank robberies by the "Ex-Presidents", a gang of robbers that use masks of former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon B. Johnson, and Jimmy Carter to disguise their true identities. They only raid the cash drawers in the banks they rob—never going for the vault—and are out in 90 seconds. Pursuing Pappas' theory that the criminals are surfers, Johnny goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. Knowing nothing of the sport/lifestyle, he persuades orphan surfer girl Tyler Endicott to teach him to surf. In the process, Johnny develops a complex friendship with Bodhi, the charismatic leader of a gang of surfers, Roach, Grommet, and Nathaniel, who accept Johnny when they realize he is a former college football star. As he masters the art of surfing, Johnny finds himself increasingly drawn to the surfers' adrenaline-charged lifestyle, Bodhi's philosophies, and Tyler. Following a clue retrieved by analyzing toxins found in the hair of one of the bank robbers, Johnny and Pappas lead an FBI raid on another gang of surfers. Despite their criminal records, these surfers are not the Ex-Presidents and the raid inadvertently ruins a DEA undercover operation.
Watching Bodhi's group surfing, Johnny suspects they are the "Ex-Presidents," noting how close a group they are and the way one of them moons everyone in the same manner one of the robbers does when leaving a bank. He tails Bodhi and his suspicions are confirmed when he sees Bodhi and Roach casing a bank. Johnny and Pappas stake out the bank and the Ex-Presidents appear. The one in the Reagan mask leads Johnny in a furious foot chase through the neighborhood, culminating in Johnny jumping into an aqueduct and causing an old football injury in his knee to flare up again. Despite having a clear shot at Reagan (locking eyes with him), Johnny cannot bring himself to shoot and Reagan escapes.
At a campfire that night, it is revealed that Bodhi and his gang are the Ex-Presidents. Their motivation is not profit, but rebelling against the system. Knowing Johnny's true identity, most of the gang want out but Bodhi refuses to fold. The next morning, Bodhi aggressively recruits Johnny into going skydiving with him and his friends. Johnny, still without proof of Bodhi's bank robbing, tags along. After the jump, Bodhi reveals that he knows Johnny is FBI and has arranged for his friend Rosie, a non-surfing thug, to hold Tyler hostage. Johnny is forced to go with the Ex-Presidents in their last bank robbery of the summer, but Bodhi breaks his own rule by going for the vault, taking too much time. Then Grommet, along with an off-duty police officer and a security guard who try to stop the robbery, are killed. Angered by Grommet's death and by having to kill the cop, Bodhi knocks Johnny out and leaves him at the scene.
Defying their boss, Pappas and Johnny head to the airport where Bodhi, Roach, and Nathaniel are about to leave for Mexico, where Rosie awaits them with Tyler. During a shootout, Pappas and Nathaniel are killed, while Roach is seriously wounded. The pilot reveals their destination within Johnny's earshot as San Felipe, jeopardizing their escape plans. With Roach aboard, Bodhi forces Johnny onto the plane at gunpoint. Once airborne and over their intended drop zone, Bodhi and Roach put on their parachutes and jump from the plane, leaving Johnny to take the blame again. With no other parachutes available, Johnny jumps from the plane with Bodhi's gun, managing to intercept him before he lands, but Bodhi forces him to drop the gun so he can open their parachute and land safely. Upon impact, Johnny's knee gives out again, allowing Bodhi to escape Johnny's grasp. Bodhi meets with Rosie and releases Tyler. Roach dies of his wounds and Bodhi and Rosie leave with the money.
Nine months later, a long-haired Johnny, still surfing, tracks down Bodhi at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, where a record storm is producing lethal waves. This is an event Bodhi had talked about experiencing, calling it the "50-Year Storm". During a brawl in the surf, Johnny manages to handcuff himself and Bodhi together. Bodhi begs Johnny to release him so he can ride the once-in-a-lifetime wave. Knowing he will not come back alive, Johnny releases him, bids him farewell, and watches, with the authorities, as Bodhi surfs to his death. Johnny walks away, throwing his FBI badge into the ocean.
[Spoilers End]
Cast and Crew[]
- Patrick Swayze as Bodhi
- Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah
- Gary Busey as FBI Agent Angelo Pappas
- Lori Petty as Tyler Endicott
- John C. McGinley as FBI Agent Ben Harp
- James LeGros as Roach
- John Philbin as Nathaniel
- Bojesse Christopher as Grommet
- Lee Tergesen as Rosie
- Julian Reyes as FBI Agent Alvarez
- Daniel Beer as FBI Agent Babbit
- Vincent Klyn as Lupton "Warchild" Pittman
- Chris Pedersen as Bunker Weiss
- Dave Olson as Archbold
- Anthony Kiedis as Tone
- Christopher Pettiet as 15
- Sydney Walsh as Miss Deer
- Peter Phelps as Australian surfer
- Tom Sizemore as DEA Agent Dietz