'Point Break' review: Compelling narrative and charming performances are both in short supply in this remake film

Cast: Luke Bracey, Edgar Ramírez, Teresa Palmer, Ray Winstone, Delroy Lindo

Director: Ericson Core

The original 'Point Break' from 1991, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, was no masterpiece. But over the years it has amassed a cult following of sorts, particularly on home video. You could put it down to the simple but thrilling story about a band of bank-robbing surfers, the adrenalin-pumping action scenes, or to the sheer charisma of its leading men Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze.

As it turns out, compelling narrative and charming performances are both in short supply in the remake of 'Point Break', whose makers evidently want to raise the stakes on the action but can't seem to weave these terrific sequences seamlessly into the rest of the film.

In Bigelow's original, Reeves starred as FBI agent Johnny Utah who infiltrates a surfer crime ring run by Bodhi (Swayze). The new film casts expressionless Aussie 'himbo' Luke Bracey as Utah, and Edgar Ramirez steps up to play Bodhi, the leader of a gang of extreme-sports enthusiasts who rob the rich and perform death defying "ordeals" around the world to attain Nirvana and "to honor the earth". Don't even ask.

Given its pretentious premise, it's hardly surprising that the bulk of the film's dialogue resembles the kind of corny one-liners that you tend to find in fortune cookies. My favorite is a gem that Bodhi delivers, surprisingly with a straight face: "When a man pushes his limits, he eventually finds them." WTF, dude!

It's not as if the earlier film didn't have its share of cheesy moments, but director Ericson Core's remake is full cheesecake factory, complete with homoerotic undertones in the brawny bromance between the two protagonists.

Every 15 minutes or so, the 'story' pauses to make place for another one of the film's exhilarating sports scenes, which are stressful but also fun to watch. The opening set piece – a mountaintop motorcycle race – made my heart pound. A rock-climbing sequence towards the end of the film had me literally hanging on to the edge of my seat. Less effective, however, is the accompanying CGI which looks crude and unsophisticated, particularly a scene in which a block of currency notes are released mid-air – you can spot the pixels, for heaven's sake!

I spent most of the film rolling my eyes at the bumper-sticker dialogue and the bland performances of the actors. Frankly, 'Point Break' seems to stand for the point at which you decide you can't take any more of this nonsensical drivel. I'm going with a generous two out of five, strictly for the nail-biting sports scenes. Nothing else works here.

Rating: 2/5

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