Point Break

Directed by Ericson Core, Point Break follows green FBI agent Johnny Utah (Luke Bracey) as he successfully infiltrates a group of daredevil ecoterrorists (led by Édgar Ramírez’s Bodhi). It’s promising subject matter that is, despite a fairly engaging opening stretch, employed to progressively underwhelming and flat-out interminable effect by Core, as the filmmaker, armed with Kurt Wimmer’s screenplay, delivers a substance-free actioner that contains woefully little in the way of forward momentum or connective tissue – with the emphasis instead placed on a series of dangerous, thrill-seeking interludes (eg surfing, biking, wingsuit flying, etc). It does, as a result, become more and more difficult to work up interest in or enthusiasm for any of this, and while the picture admittedly does contain a small handful of effective moments (eg a legitimately tense free-solo climb in Venezuela), Point Break is, for the most part, devoid of any real thrills and stymied by an overuse of CGI during its high-octane digressions – which ultimately cements its status as a brainless endeavor that squanders a seemingly foolproof setup.

* out of ****