For some growing up in Kansas, New York City, or, heck, Northern California, Point Break—starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze and directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow—is the ultimate cinematic expression of the Los Angeles experience. For others it’s Encino Man, but that’s a subject for a different post.
For the uninitiated, Point Break, released on July 12, 1991, tells the story of a rookie FBI agent named Johnny Utah (Reeves), who goes undercover to track a band of bank robbing surfers (The Ex-Presidents) led by Bodhi (Swayze).
There is surfing (mostly shot in Hawaii), there is the wooing of a surfer chick played by Lori Petty, there are car chases, there are shootouts (including one where LA native Anthony Kiedis shoots himself in the foot), and there is Gary Busey shouting obscenities in the role of Utah’s veteran partner, Angelo Pappas. And, of course, the whole thing ends with Reeves delivering arguably the best line from a career full of magnificent lines: “Vaya con Dios.”
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