The saga of Bodhi and Johnny Utah lives on. They’ve traversed time, space and terrible haircuts to meet again for a new, modern day adventure. Instead of picking up where they left off, though, the Point Break remake features Bodhi and Utah in a contemporary adaptation of the original. The 1991 film starring Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze has developed a cult following over the last twenty four years for its campy, over-the-top antics; though, at the time of its release, it was at the cutting edge of extreme sports. As the action sports climate rapidly progressed, the original film’s adrenalin-fueled scenes seemed to lose a little luster. It’s 2015 now, people. The forthcoming installation to the Point Break saga, however, brings Bodhi and Utah up to speed with all of today’s action sports progression.
A new featurette from Warner Bros. takes fans behind the scenes for a look at some of the extreme stunts involved in the upcoming film. This clip focuses specifically on the surf scenes and the professional stunt doubles who stepped in for the Hollywood actors. As the world’s leading waterman and an integral stunt consultant of the original film, Laird Hamilton came back for the remake under the awesome title of Surfing Technical Advisor. “Everything about this film is the next level up,” Laird says.
For instance, take the two surfers, one barrel scene at Teahupoo. One surfer chases another over the ledge of a gigantic wall of water at Teahupoo. One surfer on that wave is dangerous enough. Two is near suicide. It’s like the chase scene from the original film but on Tijuana steroids. In place of actors Luke Bracey (Utah) and Édgar Ramírez (Bodhi), big wave specialists Bruce Irons and Dylan Longbottom stepped in as doubles. As the heaving wall of water crashes behind them, Bruce and Dylan crisscross down the face, pull into a cavernous tube and simultaneously get spit out. But not everyone was so lucky. In the process of filming, the surfer stunt doubles pushed the boundaries so far that injuries were bound to occur. Just ask Laurie Towner. Typically a Teahupoo standout, Towner smashed his face into the reef on his first wave.
With a Christmas release, it’s yet to be seen whether the new Point Break will capture the endearing bromance of the original. In the stunt department, however, the follow-up promises to be a batsh*t display of progression. And that’s something worth looking forward to. “No one’s going to believe that this was actually done for real, because it’s that big and that crazy,” says one of Point Break’s many stunt coordinators. “[They’ll think] that maybe it was done with visual effects, but it’s not.”
Well, you’ve got our attention. This frame grab from the making of Point Break looks, feels, tastes legit.
