Point Break - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Point Break



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:



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Movie
The late 80s and early 90s were a crazy time. We had movies about people swapping faces, Arnold shooting Aliens while screaming ‘get to da choppa!”, and moves where FBI agents chase after surfer bank robbers. 1991’s Point Break is that sort of crazy bro-tastic film that just SHOULDN’T work, yet somehow….well….does. Kathryn Bigelow’s attempt at taking the whacky premise of hippy surfers robbing 30 banks and turning it into a blockbuster has been sort of controversial over the years. Half the people watching Point Break for the first time will either guffaw in amazed laughter, or will put it on their top 10 movie lists for being just crazy enough to actually work. Really it SHOULDN’T work, but somehow Keanu Reeves pulling his “whoa dude” surfer personality star power into the lime light, and Patrick Swazne just stealing every scene that he’s in struck a chord with audiences, as it dominated in the box office in 1991. Not to mention becoming a cult classic over the last 32 years.

25 year old FBI rookie Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) has been assigned to the Los Angels department and shuffled off on haggard and off beat Agent Pappas (Gary Busey). The two of them are assigned to tack down a group of bank robbers who all dress up with Ex Presidents face masks, and never spend more than 90 seconds in the bank before heading out. So far they’ve been 2 steps ahead of the cops, never staying in one place too long, and always leaving before the police can get there in time. The FBI have been trying to catch the multi state robbers for several years, but so far nobody has been able to even get an IDEA who they are.

Utah’s partner Pappas has an idea though. He thinks that the Ex Presidents gang are actually surfers due to the pattern of them robbing up and down the west coast. All of the locations right by popular surfing spots. Deciding to go along with his partner’s theory, Johnny goes in under cover to the L.A. surfer scene and tries to scope out just who might be their suspects. While running his gig as the “newbie” surfer, Johnny falls for the beautiful Tyler Lori Petty) and her friend Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), only to realize almost too late that Bodhi is the guy he’s looking for. But with each step forward Johnny runs the risk of going native, especially after he and Bodhi start forming a friendship that surpasses even the brotherhood of the blue.

Yeah, I’m not even going to deny it. Point Break is pure 90s cheese that just shouldn’t work. It’s goofy, with a cheesy premise that does not get any better the longer you watch. In fact, even though I love the movie I catch myself chuckling at some of the over dramatic lines and almost parody like scenes. But it’s really the characters themselves that sell the movie. Keanu Reeves goes full in with his surfer Bill & Ted cool guy person, and Patrick Swayze just EATS up the scenery in whatever shot the man is in. The two just work together like peanut butter and jelly, making you ignore all of the stupidity going on around. Also, Gary Busey just acts like Gary Busey here, and that’s never a bad thing.

On a serious note though, I love to dissect the character of Bodhi, and how he was able to suck in Johnny Utah until the poor Rookie was almost in over his head and willing to give up his badge for the life Bodhi promised. Swayze’s Bodhi is 100% pure charisma. An ideologue who borders on the verve of psychopathy, but one who is SOOOOO charismatic that he can pull people to him like a gravitational force. He’s what makes any true villain actually scary in that he totally believes what he’s selling, and can’t see just how much of a psychopath he truly is. Only the audience can look in over his shoulder and watch the evil slowly suck Johnny closer and closer to crossing a line that he can’t go back from.




Rating:

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity




4K Video: Video:

Point Break was originally release back in 2008, and we’ve been stuck with the same “eh, that’s decent” transfer for the better part of 15 years. Shout Studios has gone back and created a new 4K resolution master from the interpositive, and using that new master for both the Dolby Vision enhanced 4K UHD disc AND the included Blu-ray in the set. The results are generally REALLY nice. Point Break would probably need to go back to the original negative and utilize some restoration to get the most out of it, but this interpositive scan is quite nice. The old transfer had blown out and washed out colors, with dull highlights and fairly over saturated reds. This new transfer looks much more natural, with actual COLORS popping off the screen thanks to the DV. Blacks are deep and inky, and outside of the softness and graininess of the original source material, I have very little to nitpick on. There’s still a red push on skin tones and some sepia hues to the outdoor shots, but overall this is a really impressive and filmic looking transfer.








Audio:

Judging by my memory, this is probably the same 5.1 DTS-HD MA track that was found on the WB disc, or at least Shout Simply re-encoded it from the source, as it sounds remarkably similar to my old disc (which is stuck in a moving box right now so I can’t compare). Either way, it’s a solid sounding mix that sounds a bit thin at times, but still is very lively with the sounds of the surf and the copious action scenes. The bass gets a bit punchy near the ocean, or when gun fire is going off, otherwise it’s fairly quiet during the rest of the movie. Surrounds get utilized nicely with great channel separation, and dialog is strong. There is one minor “flaw” that has plagued the movie since it’s inception, and that is the dialog has always been a hair breadth “off” from mouth movements in some scenes. Some scenes dialog is perfectly in sync, and then others it looks like some ADR was used, as the timing is just slightly wonky. Not enough to be a problem, and it has followed the film across every format, so I’m guessing it’s basked into the audio source itself from Warner.












Extras:

• "It's Make or Break"
• "Ride the Wave"
• "On Location: Malibu"
• "Adrenaline Junkies"
• Additional Scenes
• Image Gallery
• Theatrical Trailer

Final Score: ​

Point Break is one of those cult classics that you either love,or you roll your eyes at (or a little of both). Sure, it’s completely silly to the core, with stunt men doing stunts so blatantly that you can’t help but notice it’s not the same as actor, but both Reeves and Swayze simply MAKE the movie for most. But rest assured, no matter how cheesy you may think this film is, it can never be as cheesy as the 2015 remake (*shudder). Shout Studios new remaster is surprisingly strong, with a nice new 2160p master that handily outclasses the worn out 2008 Blu-ray. Definitely a solid buy for those who enjoy the movie.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Patrick Swayze, Keanu Reeves, Gary Busey, Loir Petty, James Le Gros
Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow
Written by: W. Peter Iliff, Rick King
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, English DTS-HD MA 2.0
Subtitles: English SDH
Studio: Universal
Rated: R
Runtime: 122 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: December 5th, 2023

Recommendation: Good Buy

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I have to revisit this one. For some reason, I can't remember seeing this one.

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

The fact you gave this movie only 4 stars negates everything. This is a 9-star movie without a doubt. We even named our new puppy Bodhi.

 

[Michael Scott]

The fact you gave this movie only 4 stars negates everything. This is a 9-star movie without a doubt. We even named our new puppy Bodhi.

Like I said in the review. it's one of those movies that is well loved for a reason

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Like I said in the review. it's one of those movies that is well loved for a reason

View attachment 66361

 

[Todd Anderson]

Travis beat me to it... Mike... FIVE STARS!!!!

 

[Travis Ballstadt]

Travis beat me to it... Mike... FIVE STARS!!!!