Let’s be honest: we knew this day was coming. Let’s not try and mount some kind of moral outrage about it. When superhero franchises can be totally rebooted five years after the last entry, anything is up for grabs, and any popular film that still isn’t a viable franchise (see: “Die Hard,” where Bruce Willis is still mobile enough for a fifth installment) will have the remake vultures circling. But yes. “Point Break” is heading for a remake.
Almost twenty years to the day since the release of the original, Deadline reports that Alcon Entertainment, the company behind the new “Blade Runner” film that Ridley Scott signed on to last month, has picked up the rights to Kathryn Bigelow‘s 1991 actioner. Twitch reported back in June that writer Kurt Wimmer (“Salt,” “Total Recall“) is penning the new version, and that does indeed seem to be the case; the writer will also serve as a producer on the project, which is currently searching for a director.
The original, of course, involved ludicrously-named FBI agent Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) going undercover with a gang of surfers who double as bank-robbers known as “the ex-Presidents,” led by the charismatic Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), and Wimmer’s take will apparently be set in the world of “international extreme sports.” Yay, base jumping! Producer Michael De Luca comments “Point Break’ wasn’t just a film, it was a Zen meditation on testosterone fueled action and manhood in the late 20th century and we hope to create the same for the young 21st!” Did you hear that? Young! Miley Cyrus in Lori Petty’s role!
It’s not like “Point Break” is some untouchable artifact. It’s Kathryn Bigelow’s third or fourth best film (depending on your tolerance for “Strange Days” and/or “Blue Steel“), a visceral, fairly dumb actioner elevated by the director’s abilities, and by how far it pushes its bromance. But from the looks of Wimmer’s unimaginative-seeming “Total Recall” remake, we wouldn’t expect anything inspired to emerge here.
