Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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56 of 57 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
"Punk, Quarterback punk...", October 17, 2006
Generally panned by critics upon its release, Point Break has gone on to enjoy something of a minor cult following among action film fans who enjoy its breathlessly choreographed action sequences involving daring bank heists, car chases, skydiving and, of course, surfing - one of the film's most important selling points. The film came along after Patrick Swayze's phenomenal success with Ghost and he went completely in the opposite direction with this film. Point Break also proved to be a warm-up for Keanu Reeves who would become a full-fledged action hero with Speed a few years later.
Point Break trots out and downright revels in stereotypes: Utah is the all-American good guy, Pappas is the burn out cop and they are constantly being chewed out by their jerk-off boss (McGinley) for their screwball antics. Surprisingly, it's Swayze's Zen master/surfer/bank robber that doesn't fall into an easy stereotype and comes across as the most interesting, charismatic character in the entire movie. And you have to give the credit to Swayze and his oddly fascinating performance. There is a nice scene where he tells Utah his philosophy of surfing, "It's a state of mind. It's that place where you lose yourself and find yourself." We find ourselves rooting not for Reeves' bland FBI agent but Swayze's thrillseeking surfer.
Point Break is the epitome of a guilty pleasure: to dumb to defend rationally but with action sequences too cool to dismiss totally. It's a big, loud comic book of a movie and it knows it and has the conviction to go for it. But is it worth purchasing on DVD if you already own a copy?
First up are eight deleted scenes that include more footage of Utah trying to surf. We also see him get more grief from his boss for his undercover work. There are other little bits of excised footage that doesn't really amount to all that much.
"It's Make or Break" is a retrospective featurette. Busey, Petty and Swayze all contribute new interviews for this DVD and talk about their experiences making the movie.
"Ride the Wave" examines the spirituality of surfing. The ocean is a double-edged sword - at once very beautiful but also very dangerous. This extra also takes a brief look at the surfer culture.
"Adrenaline Junkies" examines the exciting stunts staged in the movie. Like his character, Swayze was into skydiving but the studio did not want him to do it. However, if you look at the first skydiving sequence, he really jumped out of the plane!
"On Location: Malibu" is a more light-hearted extra as two of the Ex-Presidents (who were actual surfers) John Philbin and Bojesse Christopher take us on a mini-tour of key locations in Malibu used in the movie. They crack jokes and reminisce about key scenes.
Also included are three trailers and a behind-the-scenes stills gallery.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An absolute gulity pleasure !!!, July 28, 2006
Review
A gang of Southern California surfers tear up the waves, while enjoying the sun, sand and the sea. But in their spare time they also double up as Bank robbers and commit their crimes masked as American presidents. The gang led by Bodhi (Patrick Swayze)have been making some serious hits.
Finally the law in the form of FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) and his partner, Pappas (Gary Busey)suspect the sand lovers and decide to infiltrate them by going undercover.
Throw in skydiving, some pretty boy male bonding action and a little bit of love into this cocktail, this turns out to be a pretty decent film. The acting is saved with good pacing and a commendable script; which is not as predictable as 1 might think.
It's worth a watch, definetly!!!
The Dvd
The film itself will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with both English Dolby Digital 5.1 and 4.0 Dolby Surround tracks.
Extras will include deleted scenes (Holistic Fitness With Agent Pappas, Agent Johnny Utah Thinks He Can Surf, Tyler Saves Johny From The Waves, Penetration Of The Social Infrastructure, Tyler & Johnny Spend Time Alone In The Water, A Basic Hit & Run, Tyler Accuses Johnny Of Using Her, and Johnny & Bodhi Talk About Robbing Banks), an It's Make or Break featurette, a Ride the Wave featurette, an Adrenaline Junkies featurette, an On Location: Malibu featurette, a still gallery, and three theatrical trailers
++ Though the inital dvd loses the DTS track.. the DTS track was horrendous in the 1st place...So for me personally, i'd rather not have it....
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24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
cropped, vhs-scan ..., May 30, 2001
I'm a Point Break fan. It's one of the best "bad" movies out there, so I was pumped when it finally came out on DVD. Unfortunately, it is a total ..... Everyone loves to watch their favorite movies in letterbox, because it gives you the opportunity to view the full movie as opposed to the scan made to fit the VHS format. In the case of Point Break however the letterbox format was achieved by cropping the top and bottom off of the vhs scan. So, not only do you not get the full feature film, you don't even get the VHS view of the film. It's claustrophobic. There are scenes in this DVD that don't even makes sense, parts of people's faces are cut off. DO NOT BUY THIS [junk]!!! The picture is sharp, but it's like watching the movie through a keyhole!!!
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