Prime Time: Point Break (1991)

It came from a story idea by Rick King, it was turned into a screenplay by W. Peter Iliff, it was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, and it starred Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves, with sterling support from Lori Petty, Gary Busey, and John C. McGinley. It threaded together a plot that featured undercover FBI work, surfing, skydiving, masks depicting ex-presidents of America, and the best ever foot chase committed to film. And Point Break became one of the best action movies of the early '90s. Tonally, everyone involved judges this just right, and you can take comfort in the fact that this pretty much holds up as well today as it did when you first saw it. Even that bit referenced in Hot Fuzz when Keanu Reeves shoots his gun up in the air and goes "aaahhhhhh".

Reeves is Johnny Utah, the new guy at an L.A. branch of the FBI. The area has seen a number of bank robberies over the past few years, really professional work by people who have barely left one clue at any crime scenes, which leads to Utah being sent undercover. Because one potential theory, thought up by Agent Pappas (Gary Busey), considers the notion that the robbers are a group of surfers. Utah soon finds his way in to the surfing scene via Tyler (Lori Petty), which gets him close to Bodhi (Swayze) and his buddies. They're a good bunch of thrill-seekers, but would they ever think of robbing banks? 

There’s so much to like about Point Break in pretty much every main sequence, even when you are just wallowing in the action movie tropes that crop up. The story is enjoyably ridiculous, and famously reworked to start a certain car-filled franchise, and the action beats remain slick and impressive. Bigelow often feels like a bit of a “get out of jail free” card when people are asked to make one female director they like, especially as she made so many films that seem steeped in testosterone, but she has the reputation that she has because she absolutely deserves it. And Point Break shows her excelling once again, and delivering a bit of a modern classic.

Reeves is excellent, physically capable in the role of Johnny Utah, while still wet enough behind the ears to complicate the situation when he finds himself making a whole bunch of new friends he could end up having to arrest. Swayze gives another one of his star turns from this period, once again playing someone trying to live by a certain code of ethics as things get tougher and tougher, although his character eventually becomes much more morally flexible. Petty may be stuck with the “potential love interest” role, but she does well, and is allowed some interesting little moments throughout. Busey is as gregarious as ever, and John C. McGinley is the stereotypical angry boss, a role that fits him well. There’s also a very small role for Tom Sizemore, playing another undercover agent, that means he was involved with two of the best action thrillers of the nineties.

The script may be more brie than brilliance, but that is part of the charm. Point Break delivers everything you expect from this kind of film, and then some, but it has a mix of earnestness and humour that helps to keep it near the very top of the action movie tree. And it is one that is arguably just as influential as some of the other action movies from the ‘80s and ‘90s.

9/10

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Office Space (1999)

Written and directed by Mike Judge, Office Space resonates with a hell of a lot of people just as much now as it did when it was first released. The fact that the film wasn't given much, if any, support and advertising when it was released perhaps explains why those who love the film are so loyal to it. It's a cult hit but it's a cult hit with a lot of appeal to anyone who has been stuck in an office job at some point in their lives. It's a movie that you can watch nowadays and share with others, an experience full of familiarity and wish-fulfilment that makes for perfect viewing when you need cheering up after a bad day at work.

Ron Livingston plays the central character, Peter Gibbons, one of the hundreds of thousands of people who seem to spend their working days trying to hold on to whatever is left of their sanity from the moment they wake up to the moment they leave the office. He stares at the cubicle walls around him and spends a lot of his day just zoning out. That all changes, however, when he takes part in a unique hypnotherapy session that leaves him completely calm and not caring one bit about his job. This could get him fired, of course, but actually ends up making him look better to the two consultants who are checking out the company and "streamlining" some departments.

It's a bit rough around the edges, and not quite as sharp as it could be, but Office Space well and truly deserves the reputation that it has amongst people who have been praising it for years. The central characters are all superb but the biggest laughs come from the supporting cast of downtrodden workers (especially Milton, played by Stephen Root - a pretty perfect physical interpretation of the animated character*).

Ron Livingston is ably supported by David Herman and Ajay Naidu, both portraying fellow sufferers, and there's yet another wonderful turn from the always wonderful Richard Riehle. Gary Cole is hilarious as the office boss while John C. McGinley and Paul Wilson prompt more laughs as the two consultants impressed by Peter's attitude. Then there's Jennifer Aniston, giving a bright and breezy performance as Joanna, a woman stuck in a different kind of workday hell at an eatery named Chotchkie's.

It's a shame that a subplot about the workers trying to make themselves a small, dishonest profit feels shoehorned in and not that well thought out but there are enough brilliant scenes (many of them involving a frustrating printer) to raise the movie well above average and make the whole thing worth repeated viewings.

*For those who don't know, Mike Judge made the film based on his own animated works, "Milton", that proved to be very popular on Saturday Night Live.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Office-Space-DVD-Ron-Livingston/dp/B0000BZNIU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1342348922&sr=8-1

On Deadly Ground (1994)

A film with a cast that includes Michael Caine, John C. McGinley, Billy Bob Thornton, Joan Chen, R. Lee Ermey and Mike Starr may sound like something well worth watching. But then just let me add that Steven Seagal also stars in this one. In fact, he’s the lead. And let me also add that nobody involved in this film is putting forward their best work.

Seagal plays an environmentally-minded hardass who is working for Michael Caine, and his massive oil company, at the start of the movie but quickly realises that something is amiss and goes out of his way to right some wrongs, earn the respect of the Eskimo people and punch people in the face. Everything you would expect from a Seagal movie.

I was expecting something awful from On Deadly Ground but I have to admit that . . . . . . . . . . it’s okay. The environmental message sits uncomfortably beside the action sequences (especially in an overly preachy final monologue from Seagal) but the action sequences themselves are pretty bloody good.

Which is a big relief, considering what we have to endure from Michael Caine in his many scenes. Caine starts off attempting an American accent and either soon gives up on it or is simply so awful that he sounds just like . . . . . . . . . Michael Caine. And the black hair-dye is also another big distraction.

John C. McGinley as is good as he so often is, R. Lee Ermey isn’t too bad and Billy Bob Thornton is in the kind of role you could easily label “number two henchman” but gets a couple of good lines despite his very limited screentime. Joan Chen will probably want to forget this one, it’s far from her best role.

Written by Ed Horowitz and Robin U. Russin, and directed by Seagal himself, this is a rare action movie with a social conscious. Which is why it falters. Does anyone really want to watch an action movie that takes time out to remind you of how to make the world a cleaner place?

 

The mysticism and nobility of Seagal makes for some unintentional laughs but that can all be forgotten during a final half hour that replaces the battleship of Under Siege with an oil refinery. Which is why the movie still manages to get a score that just lifts it above average. 

6/10.

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