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6 Degrees Entertainment

'Point Break' (2015)
(Édgar Ramírez, Luke Bracey, Ray Winstone, Teresa Palmer, Delroy Lindo, et al / 2-Disc Blu-Ray+DVD / R / 2016 / Warner Bros.)

Overview: In '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.

Blu-Ray Verdict: Oh dear! I think you all know by now that this remake landed face first at the box office, barely scraping an sense of love, just blitzed from fans of the original, to the press to average joe moviegoers out on a Saturday/Sunday night looking for a movie to watch and lose two hours within.

I mean, imagine the intense stunts from energy drink commercial or Youtube extreme sport montage while music from 'Mad Max' blares on background. This is where the second coming of 'Point Break' truly excels. When it hits just the right velocity, it's bloody breathtaking. Unfortunately, the narrative is not only poor, it nearly sabotages the movie like a broken parachute!

Story revolves around Utah (Luke Bracey), an FBI trainee as he investigates a series of heists and their connection to a group of athletes led by Bodhi (Édgar Ramírez). As one might expect, it follows the same trail that Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze has placed. The new leads do what they can, although it's better to watch this without comparing, because it certainly doesn't have the same caliber of star or chemistry.

The plot then dives head first into uncharted territory. It's littered with so much "save the planet" preachy acts as the writing struggles to place FBI agent in the hippie nirvana angle. The motivation is just a mess of random vague one-liners, even the on-screen characters are perplexed by it. There's a romance subplot, but this is mainly to show the attractive Teresa Palmer as eye candy for several short scenes.

The movie is actually better when they just show the crazy sequences instead of forcing its lackluster story. It has plethora of impressive feats, from high heaven wingsuit flying, the climb on hazardous urban streets and natural cliffs, to the surfing of gigantic waves. This is the level of stunt choreography 'xXx' and 'Fast and Furious' wish they had.

When camera pans into the right angle and lighting, as the sounds is muffled by throbbing tune of the fast music, Point Break reaches the zenith. It's miles beyond what typical action flick could offer, but sadly it's repeatedly interrupted by the shoddy story, which feels like an excuse to fly across the globe to do random cool tricks.

If viewed only on the grand mix of cinematography and choreography, 'Point Break' is exquisite, this would have been a great documentary of extreme sport. However, as action movie, the story is so pretentious, it simply serves as speed bump to hamper the thrill. Oh, and for those playing along at home, in the original 1991 film, James Le Gros played Roach, one of the ex-Presidents; in the remake he plays an assistant director of the FBI. A nice touch, for sure, but in a movie that doesn't make the grade, one he might have subsequently chosen to be overlooked for! This is a Widescreen Presentation (1.78:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

- Go behind the filming of key stunts with some of the world's greatest athletes in four heart-pounded featurettes
- Deleted Scenes
- Trailers

Own 'Point Break' on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, or DVD on March 29 or Own It Early on Digital HD on March 15!

Official Trailer





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