The original Point Break is seen as something of an action classic, especially among action fans of a certain age. The movie, which starred Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, came out in 1991, and its reputation has only improved in the decades since.
It might seem foolhardy, then, to attempt to remake a movie that so many people already have strong feelings about. And yet, in 2015, director Ericson Core did just that, adapting the story of the original film to feel just a touch more modern. Whether you love the original or not, though, there are plenty of reasons this remake is actually worth watching, especially now that the movie is available to stream on Netflix.
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The core premise is rock-solid
Part of the reason this remake works is because the premise of Point Break is so hard to top. Both films tell the story of a young FBI agent who begins to expect that a group of extreme sports enthusiasts are behind a series of robberies, and decides to investigate that gang to confirm his suspicions.
As he infiltrates the gang and gets closer to its leader, though, his allegiances begin to shift, and he grows to appreciate why they live their lives the way they do. While the leads this time around (Luke Bracey and Édgar Ramirez) don’t have quite the same level of juice as Swayze and Reeves, there’s still plenty of tension to mine in that central dynamic.
The extreme sports on display are an excellent expansion
The original Point Break leaned into the extreme sports angle, and includes a genuinely awe-inspiring sky-diving sequence. The 2015 remake goes at the element to an even greater degree, showing off surfing, motocross, and a variety of other sports.
The movie is not as thoughtful about the philosophy behind these extreme sports, but it makes up for that empty-headedness by reminding you how fun they are to watch. The stunt work here is impeccable, and it’s a huge part of why the movie feels so fresh even though a very similar film already exists.
The remake is stupider than the original (that’s a good thing)
This may not sound like an obvious pro, but hear me out. The original Point Break, which was directed by Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, is thoughtful almost in spite of its inherently dumb premise. The whole thing is a meditation on masculinity and why it’s so hard for two men to admit it when they genuinely love one another.
The new Point Break doesn’t aspire to any of that kind of high-brow philosophizing, which means that it’s the perfect kind of movie you can watch without really having to turn your brain on. The original Point Break is an action film for people who want their movies to have big ideas, and the new one is for people who just like to watch cops chase after robbers, and there’s no shame in that.
The effects are pretty wondrous
The original Point Break was pretty groundbreaking for its time, but it’s hard to deny that some of the effects in the new film dwarf what the first installment does. That includes some immersive extreme sports sequences, as well as a general escalation of the scale of the action throughout the film.
Things never get so heightened that it feels like a Fast & Furious movie, but the action is bigger, brawnier, and sillier than the original, which already had its own moments of over-the-top fun. Point Break as a whole becomes a simpler, more spectacle driven affair with this remake, so if you’re looking for simple pleasures, it might just be perfect.
Point Break is now streaming on Netflix.
