In 1991, Kathryn Bigelow directed the adrenaline-charged action crime movie “Point Break,” about an FBI agent who goes undercover to catch a gang of bank robbers who may be surfers, starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. It’s become an action crime classic over the last two decades, and sure, it’s an enjoyable film, but do we actually need a remake? Hollywood sure seems to think so. Warner Bros. is releasing “Point Break” later this year, but this main trio is decidedly less sexy than Bigelow, Reeves and Swayze. Then again, everyone’s gotta start somewhere.
This new version of “Point Break” focuses on some up-and-comers: Luke Bracey staring in the Keanu Reeves role, and Edgar Ramirez in the Patrick Swayze role. Now, Ramirez is known and celebrated in many circles — he was amazing in Oliver Assayas’ three part “Carlos,” and has done strong supporting work in "Zero Dark Thirty,” “The Counselor” and “Che: Part One" — but he’s still hardly a household name.
Luke Bracey is a real unknown to mainstream audiences, but Hollywood is definitely hoping he’s one of the next great white hopes. He’s appeared in “G.I. Joe: Retaliation,” co-starred in "The November Man" alongside Pierce Brosnan, and he has a slew of films in the can like “Amnesia,” “American Dream,” and Max Landis’ “Me Him Her.” Here’s the official synopsis:
In Alcon Entertainment’s fast-paced, high-adrenaline action thriller “Point Break,” a young FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey), infiltrates a cunning team of thrill-seeking elite athletes – led by the charismatic Bodhi (Edgar Ramirez). The athletes are suspected of carrying out a spate of crimes in extremely unusual ways. Deep undercover, and with his life in imminent danger, Utah strives to prove they are the architects of this string of inconceivable crimes. The film is replete with the most daring athleticism ever seen in a motion picture. These action adventure feats are performed by elite athletes representing the world’s best in class in big-wave surfing, wingsuit flying, sheer-face snowboarding, free rock climbing, and high-speed motorcycling.
Early footage of the movie recently unveiled at CinemaCon apparently emphasized a lot of action and extreme, high-flying stunts — go figure — but some also complained that the fun and entertainment value of the first one was missing. Have they gone too dark or too serious? Well, a new trailer is here and you can judge for yourself.
The new "Point Break" also stars Teresa Palmer, Ray Winstone, and Delroy Lindo. Directed by cinematographer turned director Ericson Core (he shot "Payback," the Ben Affleck "Daredevil" and directed 2006’s "Invincible with Mark Wahlberg), this reboot/remake is due in theaters Christmas day later this year. Watch the trailer below and let us know what you think.