October will see the 2015 remake of Point Break surf onto Netflix, bringing the heavily criticized movie to a new audience and once again setting it up for another bashing from fans of the Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves 1991 original. However, it is hard to expect the movie to be a dud when it hits the platform, as many such movies have discovered a surge in interest when landing on the streaming service.
Released in theaters almost a decade ago, the reboot of Kathryn Bigalow’s much-loved action thriller attempted to modernize the movie for a new audience, with Luke Bracey and Edgar Ramirez having the daunting task of following Reeves and Swayze in the roles of rookie FBI agent Utah and charismatic criminal Bodhi, respectively. However, the original movie’s cult classic status meant there were many people with fond memories of the 1991 release, and that resulted in a lot of comparisons being made – which did not make good reading for the remake.
Director Ericson Core expanded on the plot of the original movie, turning the relatively simple story of a group of surfers who take part in several bank robberies in Southern California into one with a globe-trotting, eco-terrorism-driven narrative. This was not the only change that both critics and fans deemed a failure, but more importantly, many believed that the movie’s leads lacked the chemistry that Reeves and Swayze shared in the original, something that elevated that film to something more than just another action movie.
Point Break’s Remake Chose Big Stunts Over Character Development
The 2015 remake of Point Breakchose to spend much of its runtime setting up a series of ambitious, flashy sports stunts – ranging from wingsuit flying to snowboarding to free climbing. Although this could have given the movie some kind of Mission: Impossible audience appeal, the lack of the original’s emotional or philosophical connections between its leads saw the film fall flat with pretty much everyone.
Many critics argued that the remake relied too heavily on its spectacular action sequences, ignoring any attempt to put together a connected story. This resulted in a dismal 11% Tomatometer score on Rotten Tomatoes, which was only slightly improved on with audiences giving it a 29% approval rating. Compared to the respective 69% and 79% the 1991 movie received, it was no surprise to anyone when the film raked in just $133 million against its $105 million budget. While the original movie made just $83 million on its release, it only had a budget of $24 million, therefore becoming a financial success.
Despite that negative reception, the Point Break remake now has a chance to reach a broader audience with its appearance on Netflix. The streamer has become renowned for turning box office duds into huge streaming successes. The new-found attention rarely leads to good things when it comes to new reviews being posted about said movies, but that is a small price to pay for drawing in large viewerships years after the ship seemed to have sailed…and sank.
Point Break
(2015) comes to Netflix on October 1. The original
Point Break
can be found streaming for free on Tubi.
