Gerard Butler has dropped out of the Point Break remake, ostensibly because its shooting schedule conflicts with that of his White House Down sequel, but hopefully because he realized remaking Point Break is a futile and offensive task that should never be attempted by anyone ever.
It is being attempted though, with or without Butler. Which means that the role of Bodhi—so memorably played in Kathryn Bigelow’s classic by the inimitable Patrick Swayze—is now unclaimed. And as far as I (the world’s foremost authority on Point Break) am concerned? That means that there’s only one person who can be cast to play this new iteration of Bodhi—the dangerous, bank-robbing surfer whose Buddhist nihilism inspires, teaches, and frightens the driven, impressionable young FBI agent Johnny Utah.
That one person? The person who absolutely must play Bodhi in the Point Break remake?
Keanu Reeves.
As Johnny Utah in the 1991 original, Reeves delivered one of his best performances. (Obnoxious people like to rag on Reeves, because his surfer-dude accent is apparently irresistible to the same sort of halfwits who used to imitate Austin Powers, but dude can be legitimately good when he’s cast well, which he was in Point Break.) Remember, if you will, Point Break‘s powerful, rain-soaked, Australia-set conclusion, in which Bodhi went to surf that great tube in the sky and Johnny flung his now-worthless FBI badge into the ocean. In that moment, the raw, adrenalin-fueled conflict at the heart of the film was turned on its head: Johnny, once the student, became the master.
What better way to continue that sentiment than by casting Reeves as Bodhi—thus making Johnny, from a certain point of view, the true spiritual successor to Bodhi? And thus giving this cynical Point Break rehash some much-needed heart? Reeves could pull the role off like crazy (though not as well as Swayze did, because no one will ever be able to do Bodhi as well as Swayze did), and it’d be a hell of a callback and tribute to the original. And viewers who were too young to have seen—and to have been profoundly influenced by—the original Point Break? They won’t know the difference. They’ll just know that Bodhi is someone awesome. That Bodhi is someone dangerous. That Bodhi is someone wise. That Bodhi… is Bodhi.
The more I think about this idea, the better I think it is. I demand that this happen.
ABSOLUTELY NO ONE ELSE BESIDES KEANU REEVES CAN BE CAST AS BODHI IN THE POINT BREAK REMAKE.
(Unless it’s Gary Busey.)
Dude, you just blew my mind!
You brilliant son of a bitch. That’s perfect.
Can Garey Busey play the Anthony Kiedis roll?
Also, fun fact, the scene you linked to was filmed just outside of Cannon Beach at Ecola State Park.
Only if they also remake Black Dog and put Meat Loaf in the Swayze protagonist trucker role.
I’ve had just about enough of this Keaunu revisionism. He does very well when he’s cast as an idiot, yes. And in the case of this movie, it worked because the entire fucking movie might as well take place in another dimension, so it doesn’t matter if Reeves was any good; it’s beside the point.
I’m with Erik on Keanu. He has been in some good movies, and not just playing an idiot either.
He’s alright.
I have never had the desire to see this film though.
You’re missing out, frankieb.
They’ve already shot a bunch of the action scenes in this Point Break remake/sequel (sometimes I see it referred to as a sequel). For instance, the big wave stunts were filmed at a surf spot on Maui called Pea’hi (also known as Jaws) last winter. But those were all done with stunt actors, and I guess they’ll face-swap the true Bodhi onto them at any time (they face-swapped onto stunt surfers very seamlessly in the recent Gerard Butler surfing movie, Chasing Mavericks).
IN CONCLUSION: this is a great idea, Erik! You’re right on.
ROM- can’t they just swap in Swayzes face then?
Hmm. Intriguing. Yet the pairing will fail as long as generic pretty boy plays Utah. Picture this: Reeves as Bodhi, Jason Segal as Utah. Hear me out! Whipped into shape, Segal is big enough to pass as a former college football star. He’s so unafraid and sincere it could only enhance the chemistry between the two!
ICE PREZ: Only if they already have a suitable digital scan of Swayze’s face. Usually actors have to go into a studio to have those made. However, they can sometimes be pieced together with existing footage. For the upcoming Hunger Games movie, for instance, they will digitally swap Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s face onto another actor (even though he never went into a studio for a face scan).
Interesting idea! I would be into it, even though I’m not sold on the idea of remaking a movie that was already great!
THAT’S THE ONLY WAY THE REMAKE COULD BE TERRIBLE ENOUGH TO LIVE UP TO THE ORIGINAL’S LEGACY