Point Break (3/29/2016)

Rated PG-13 for violence, thematic material involving perilous activity, some sexuality, language and drug material.

Starring Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramirez and Ray Winstone

Directed by Ericson Core (Invincible)

I definitely reached my breaking point watching this one.

In the 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 rash 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.

If I didn’t know better, I would say this film was made during a writer strike. There is minimal dialogue, and the little there is makes you wish they would stop talking and go back to surfing or jumping off cliffs. The problem is that most of the action sequences are so bad that they make you wish they were talking…see the problem?

The cast is really not good. The only thing more believable than Luke Bracey’s performance were his tattoos…and trust me the tattoos that come in gum ball machines look more believable. Edgar Ramirez and Ray Winstone are seasoned actors, but totally phone it in for these roles. There isn’t an ounce of charisma between them.

The core of this film is of course high-adrenaline extreme sports. Unfortunately, this remake has some of the worst CGI I’ve seen in the past decade. From the money drop you’ve seen in the trailer to the worse-than-ridiculous final scene where Utah lowers himself onto a very small boat from a helicopter in a hurricane…I can’t believe I just typed that sentence.

The concept of a Point Break remake in and of itself is not a bad one. The addition of the Ono Osaki character and his Osaki 8 was pretty interesting and justifies the extreme sports nicely. Add in a classic bank heist for selfish gain or for a “Robin Hood” story and you would have had a pretty decent film. But they didn’t do that and nobody asked me.

As it stands, Point Break is dull, lifeless and completely ridiculous…it’s a “Coaster.”

SHOULD KIDS SEE IT?
There is one scene where a couple kisses and then the scene cuts to the next morning. It is not graphic and no nudity is shown.

The scenes of violence in the film are pretty mild. We see a few fist fights and some extreme sports.

There is one F-word and a handful of other profanities.

CONVERSATION STARTER:

1. Why does the crew continue to break the law?


2. Do you think their actions are justified? Why or why not?

Read 1 Peter 3:9

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.


3. How were they repaying evil with evil?


4. How can you repay evil with good?