Point Break 2015 | Teen Ink

Point Break 2015

June 6, 2016
By Nola541 SILVER, Tirana, Other
Nola541 SILVER, Tirana, Other
5 articles 0 photos 1 comment

In 1991, Point Break was released as an action filled movie starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze. The remake came out in 2015, but fans have complained that it doesn’t have the same effect on the viewers as the original. Fans of the 1991 version have said that new version is useless to watch and “if you find yourself driving to this pointless remake ... brake” (Linda Cook). The remake of the classic has been described as nothing more than an action packed movie that “fails to capture the essence as the original” (Jonathan Sánchez). Point Break 2015 may be filled with action and have a flat storyline, but it still has incredible and unbelievable stunts.


The genre of the movie is action and adventure, and it was released in both 2D and 3D. Even though the storyline of the remake is pretty flat, the stunts, cinematography and the fact that it is in 3D helps to enhance the movie. Movie critics say that the 1991 version was already bad and there was no point in making a remake, despite the stunts and the 3D version.


The movie is about Johnny Utah, who stops being an extreme-sports athlete after a tragic event. He then decides he wants to join the FBI, in order to become part of the FBI, he must prove himself to the head of the agency. So as an FBI agent candidate, he throws himself into a case of bank robberies and goes undercover among a group of extreme-sports athletes. He joins them as they try to achieve the Ozaki 8, a list of eight ordeals to honor the forces of nature. Utah then becomes torn between completing the Ozaki 8 with the criminals or turning them in and getting to be a fulltime FBI agent.


Ericson Core is the director of Point Break 2015, and has also directed other movies similar to this one. One movie that is quite similar to Point Break in terms of stunts, is The Fast and the Furious (2001). The first movie that Core directed came out in 1997. In total, Core has directed seven movies, many of which are action filled.


Édgar Ramírez, who portrayed the character Bodhi, has played in similar movies to this one. Many of the films that he has starred in are movies that have to do with mass shootings and some other form of violence. In comparison to Point Break, most movies that Ramírez plays in have major stunts that are performed at some point during the movie. The actor, Luke Bracey, who portrayed the main character, Utah, hasn’t played in action and adventure movies as much as the other actors starring in Point Break.


The movie was filmed in eleven countries around the world, in which professional athletes were picked from all around the world to perform the stunts. One scene was filmed in Venezuela, at the world’s tallest waterfall. Chris Sharma, who is said to be the best climber in the world right now, was one of the stunt doubles that climbed up the rock face. For the surf scenes, there were numerous surfers from all over the world, who came to the huge swells in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. One surfing technical advisor, Laird Hamilton, who helped create the most unbelievable stunts, also helped in the 1991 original. The cameramen must perform the stunts alongside the athletes, in order to get the best possible shots.


Ericson Core mentioned that the actors, the directors, the stunt-doubles and the rest of the crew, got together and decided what their favorite parts of the original were. From there, they decided on one specific point which they then enhanced to make the remake exhilarating. Many viewers believe that the stunts weren’t actually performed and thought they were made with green screens. Due to the way in which the stunts are performed, makes it easy to believe that the stuntmen didn’t actually jump off a cliff, and fly at 145 miles per hour, or that they surfed one of the biggest swells… but they did.


Overall, in my opinion Point Break is extremely thrilling and exhilarating and is so filled with action, that the viewers can almost forget about the flat storyline. The way in which the stunts were filmed is so surreal, that it makes it hard to believe they were actually performed in real life and not with a green-screen.


The author's comments:

Fascinating distinction between two versions of the same movie.


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