Point Break

Reboots. Remakes. Redos. Whatever one wants to call them, Hollywood has made a plethora of them. And why not? It costs much less money, because the premises are basically already stamped out for you, no need for originality, and there no real character development since the film was already done, hence the word: reboot. So it's no wonder or surprise that "Point Break" isn't going to be that breath of fresh air once it hits the multiplex.

A young, inexperienced FBI agent, Johnny Utah (Luke Lacey) infiltrates an extraordinary team of extreme sports athletes he suspects of masterminding a string of unprecedented, sophisticated corporate heists lead by Bohdi (Edgar Ramirez). Deep undercover, and with his life in danger, he strives to prove to his instructor, Hall (Delroy Lindo) and co-operative, Pappas (Ray Winstone) that these athletes are the architects of the mind-boggling crimes that are devastating the world's financial markets. Filmed on four continents, North America, Europe, South America and Asia, "Point Break" presents extraordinary feats performed by the world's top extreme sports athletes, and involves some of the most daring exploits ever committed to film. Extreme sports include, snowboarding, wingsuit flying, free rock climbing, high-speed motocross and surfing 70-foot waves.

Others to round out the cast are Teresa Palmer as Samsara, Matias Varela as Grommet, Clemens Schick as Roach, Tobias Santelmann as Chowder, Max Thieriot as Jeff, Nikolai Kinski as Pascal Al Fariq and Judah Lewis as Young Utah.

As a reboot of the 1991 version of the same name, this certainly was as well done as its predecessor. Of course, the original wasn't a great film, so to say this was as good as the original is basically saying it wasn't as well done as it could've been. This was intensely directed by Ericson Core ("Invincible" '06, "The Courier/2.0" (TV movie) '08). Considering this guy has photographed quite a number of films, it's no wonder why his ability to direct comes to him fairly easily, especially when directors and cinematographers work so closely together. Not only did he shoot this with perfection, but also "Payback" '99, "The Fast and the Furious" '01, "Daredevil" '03, "Invincible" '06, "The Courier/2.0" (TV movie) '08) and others. This was written by Kurt Wimmer ("The Thomas Crown Affair" '99, "The Recruit" '03, "Street Kings" '08, "Salt" '10, "Total Recall" '12) plus others, based on a story by Rick King, W. Peter Iliff and Wimmer, which is based on the 1991 screenplay by Iliff based on a story by King and Iliff. The original version with Keanu Reeves in the Utah role and Patrick Swayze's Bohdi was certainly well cast and they pulled it off well. Surprisingly with Lacey's Utah and Ramirez's Bohdi, it was also intensely conveyed as the original.  Whereas the original's effects were stunning, this version's effects more than surpassed that of the original, however there has been 14 years between the two versions so this version's visuals should be better. The real stars here are the cinematographers: Ericson, and the aerial cinematographer's Dylan Goss and Steve Koster, asc. The photography in this was unbelievable--a sight to behold, and for this reason, it really needs to be seen on the big screen.

If one is really into extreme sports, this truly fits the bill, however if you're more into a taught, more meaningful script, this is one that you might want to pass on. But if you were on the fence, go see it for the photography alone, because this would be enough to justify the price of admission.

Out of 4 Stars: 2.5                             Rated: PG-13                          113mins.