Summer's over, but I felt like holding onto it vicariously with one of the few surf-focused features I could name. I hadn't heard of this one when it was new (the year I saw my first R movie), but between a 2015 remake and occasional references, I figured it was worth checking out. Besides, 122 minutes was a convenient amount of time for me to kill.
Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) has just joined the FBI when he hears about a gang of four who deftly rob L.A. banks while wearing masks of former U.S. presidents. Senior Agent Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey) theorizes from various hints that "the Ex-Presidents" are surfer dudes. Since Angelo's too old for it, Johnny takes up surfing in his off-duty hours, hoping to find the robbers in their insular community. He persuades expert Tyler Ann Endicott (Lori Petty) to teach him, and she introduces him to a group led by "Bodhi" (then top-billed Patrick Swayze). I think you already know where this is going.
Irritable FBI Director Ben Harp (John C. McGinley) doubts the usefulness of Johnny's approach, as does Angelo now and then. So would I. If this weren't fiction, you'd have to be awfully lucky to be on the right beach at the right time and find compelling evidence, assuming the theory was even correct.
This largely is a collection of cliches common to the early '90s: mismatched buddy cops (albeit without much comic relief), guns with unlikely clip sizes, an initially unimpressed woman who doesn't need long to start making out with the protagonist.... (The YouTube video I saw censors considerable nudity and harsher swears.) Just because Kathryn Bigelow directs doesn't mean it'd sit well with feminists. Only about thrice did the script surprise me a little in a positive way, and at least one moment that looked subversive gave way to something more traditional.
I'd be more lenient toward the movie if it starred, oh, Tom Cruise. Reeves early in his career had trouble convincingly playing anyone but a stoner/slacker. His face was too inexpressive. Some viewers would say he's gotten no better, but at least filmmakers learned to accommodate his limits.
The action? Well, I guess the surfing is pretty good, tho we don't see much of it. The fights are a bit gritty, and some of the more distinctive stunts seemed off to me. I mostly liked the parkour-esque chase scene, made extra dramatic by Johnny's past football injury.
I can see why PB became a cult classic and someone thought a remake was in order. You just need sufficient pulp tolerance.
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