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Point Break
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray A - America - Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (29th July 2008). |
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The Film
 Although this film has been around 17 years I only just managed to watching it for the first time for this review, it was always an action film I'd wanted to check out but for whatever reason I never did. Despite not having see it previously I was aware of some iconic scenes from the film including the bank robbery in ex-president's masks, the various extreme sports segments in the film (surfing, sky diving etc.) and the classic moment where Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) can't fire on his friend and discharges his weapon into the air in frustration, a scene brilliantly set-up and parodied in "Hot Fuzz" (2007) as PC Danny Butterman asks the question "Have you ever fired your gun in the air and gone 'Aaaarrrggghhh'?". Not having seen the film I was able to recall these moments rather quickly, and that is a testament to director Katherine Bigelow's vision in creating a 'Gen X' action film that although may not have stood the test of time, it's still identifiable. The film was a significant hit upon release even though it had to contend with much bigger films such as "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" released in the same year and around the summer season. Despite this, the film relatively low(er) budget, keen marketing towards the 20-something crowd and the film's action drew audiences and today still has a cult following. I wonder how different this film could have turned out with the original cast and crew (Matthew Broderick and Charlie Sheen were originally cast in the film with Ridley Scott directing). Never-the-less Bigelow's version is rather entertaining, if a little cheesy at times and filled with early 90's cliché's. The film follows undercover FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) infiltrate a gang of surfing/sky-diving/extreme sports enthusiasts who also happen to rob banks. Their M.O. includes wearing masks of ex-presidents, and Utah's mission is to find the gang and bring them to justice, but things get complicated when Utah meets Bodhi (Patrick Swayze) and forms a bond with him and also the lifestyle, things get even more complicated when Utah discovers that Bodhi is involved with the ex-president robbers. What's fun about the film is that although there's plenty of scenes where Utah is getting ridden by his bosses about getting results, not getting too involved etc. The film has an overall sense of freedom, it's tone although serious at times is a reflection of the surfer attitudes of the main characters in the film. And the film also packs quite a few hair-raising moments of surfing action as well as some equally neat action sequences. It's got everything a 'Gen Xer' might have wanted in a film in the early 90's, sweet action laced with a pumping soundtrack and a cast of beautiful people. Reeves himself proves again to the masses that he's still unattached to his characters as ever, it's not the best casting choice I must admit, as I can barely believe he's 'the one' ("The Matrix" (1999)) let alone an FBI agent. Despite this he does maintain some sort of screen presence and Swayze picks up the slack, he's just electric as Bodhi, he seems to embody the whole 'surfer mantra' thing, the mullet also helps. To be honest I was expecting this to be an airhead film, filled with lame ass surfer lingo and some bullshit about the spirituality of the sport shoved down my throat mixed with some investigative elements...it's a strange concept for a film I must admit but luckily it wasn't as stupid or silly as I thought. There are moments that make your eyes roll and it's not the most dynamic action film in the world but it's got it's charm, it's got now iconic robbery scenes and it's also got a character that fires his gun in the air and goes 'Aaaarrrggghhh'. As it turns out a sequel is going to be released in 2009. As it turns out the film will follow Bodhi and a new apprentice (so I guess he really did make it after all!), brace yourselves "Point Break" fans the film is being directed by Jan de Bont (yeah I know, I was disappointed too).
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 this high-definition transfer is in 1080p 24/fps and has been created using AVC MPEG-4 compression. This film really shows its age, 17 years on and it's only a 'ok' transfer. The image is sometimes soft, although some scenes look nice and sharp. Skin tones are fine but never seem natural enough, they are slightly washed out. Detail holds up well, thankfully Fox has cleaned up the film and features very little wear and tear, so dirt is at a minimum. Colors are fine for the most part, it's not incredible but it's decent enough.
Audio
Fox has released this film with no less than five audio tracks that include English DTS-HD lossless master audio 5.1 surround mastered at 48kHz/16-bit, as well as an English Dolby Digital 5.1 track, English Dolby Digital 4.0 surround, French Dolby Digital 2.0 surround and a Spanish Dolby Digital 1.0 mono track. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its DTS-HD track. For a film that's 17 years-old I was rather impresses with the overall soundtrack. The dialogue was strong and clear, ambient sounds feel natural and immerse the viewer. The film's score pumps, as do the action scenes which are backed by a decent 'punch' audio-wise. Gun shots sound a bit weak but bigger weapons like shotguns feel aggressive in their sound design. Overall it's a fine presentation. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
Fox has included 8 deleted scenes, 4 featurettes, a series of theatrical trailers, bonus trailers and a stills gallery. Below is a closer look at these supplements. First up are a series of 8 deleted scenes that includes: - "Holistic Fitness with Agent Pappas" which runs for 7 seconds, Pappas tells Utah what he thinks about holistic fitness. - "Agent Johnny Utah Thinks He Can Surf" which runs for 49 seconds, Utah checks out Tyler surfing and thinks that it's easy enough to do. - "Tyler Saves Johnny From the Waves" which runs for 24 seconds, Tyler gives a piece of her mind to Utah after he wipes out. - "Penetration of the Social Infrastructure" which runs for 1 minute 24 seconds, Utah gets some surf slang thrown at him while taking his surfboard through the FBI building and gets a dressing down from Agent Harp. - "Tyler and Johnny Spend Time Alone in the Water" which runs for 56 seconds, Utah and Tyler sit out in the ocean while the others go for food. - "A Basic Hit and Run" which runs for 7 seconds, Utah tells Tyler he got his cuts from a hit and run. - "Tyler Accuses Johnny of Using Her" which runs for 23 seconds, Tyler is angry that Utah used her for his investigation when she discovered his FBI jacket. - "Johnny and Bodhi Talk About Robbing Banks" which runs for 24 seconds, Bodhi tells Utah that the ex-presidents robbed the bank he uses. The first featurette is "It’s Make or Break" which runs for 23 minutes 2 seconds. Is the making-of that chronicles the film's development and takes a look at the script process which includes the various changes made, as well as setting up the film, it looks at the casting of the main players as well as delves into the film's production process. There's some good interviews here and plenty of information for fans to eat up. This is not your average EPK and worth a look. "Ride the Wave" is the second featurette which runs for 6 minutes 7 seconds and takes a look at the whole surfing culture which includes being at one with the waves and all that stuff, it's a spiritual thing for most surfers and that's briefly glanced at. check it out if you must but I doubt you'll learn anything new from this clip. "Adrenaline Junkies" is the third featurette and runs for 6 minutes 1 second, the film is filled with extreme sports moments and this clip pays tribute to that and to the people that put their lives at risk to do come pretty crazy things. The clip features some rather interesting interviews. "On Location: Malibu" is the final featurette and runs for 8 minutes 32 seconds, two actors that okayed surfers in the film recount their memories from the production as they take a retrospective look back at the film, their experiences and share some stories. Next up is a stills gallery that includes 25 images they include some production photos taken during the filming for the film's marketing. 3 theatrical trailers are next and include: - Theatrical trailer "A" which runs for 1 minute 58 seconds. - Theatrical trailer "B" which runs for 1 minute 8 seconds. - Theatrical trailer "C" which runs for 1 minute 8 seconds. Bonus trailers for: - "Jumper" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Man on Fire" which runs for 2 minutes 30 seconds. - "Live Free or Die Hard" which runs for 2 minutes 17 seconds. - "Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer" which runs for 2 minutes 10 seconds.
Overall
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