Keanu ReevesThe Point Break remake: Five rules to keep it young, dumb and ... you know
Gerard Butler might take the leap into an extreme sports remake of Point Break. They can - just about - lose the surfing, but here's five things that can't change, says Ellie Violet Bramley News: Gerard Butler in talks for Point Break remake
Blog: Point Break remake drives fans to breaking point
Reports out today that Gerard Butler is in talks for the role of bodacious badguy Bodhi in a remake of 1991 action cult classic, Point Break, have left us worried. For many, this stalwart of 90s filmic history is a "holy cow that Hollywood ought to leave well alone".
But, it's too late. Kathryn Bigelow's bovine will be re-written by Kurt Wimmer, of Salt and Final Recall fame, and will be directed by The Fast and the Furious's director of photography, Ericson Core.
It's going to be hard to please those for whom this should be an untouchable, but there are certain things Wimmer and Core will have to retain from the original, if they are to achieve anything like its radness.
1. A sterling cast
With Butler set to be Bodhi (played by Patrick Swayze back in 1991) – the two-fingers to the system, gun-toting, bank-robbing defender of the human spirit – the makers are going to have to work hard to find someone apt to play alongside him as Johnny Utah, his simultaneous rival and partner in bromance.
In the original, Utah is played brilliantly by Hollywood's best answer to timber, Keanu Reeves. Maybe Ry-Gos could bring his subtlety, or Joseph Gordon-Levitt his youthful verve? Maybe even R-Patz's?
2. A script littered with killer lines
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Wimmer has original screenplay writer W. Peter Iliff's rather large shoes to fill. The film's going to have to live up to some genius lines, such as: "You're a real blue flame special, aren't you, son? Young, dumb and full of cum"; "Bodhi, this is your fucking wake-up call man. I am an F, B, I, Agent!"; "Listen you snot-nose little shit, I was takin' shrapnel in Khe Sanh when you were crappin' in your hands and rubbin' it on your face"; "Special agent Utah! This is not some job, flipping burgers at the local drive-in! Yes! - your surfboard bothers me! Yes! - your approach to this whole damn case bothers me! And yes! - YOU BOTHER ME!".
3. Sufficient zen-ness
With the whole 90s surfer-grunge vibe now out, the makers are going to have to work hard to capture much of what made the original so singular: its ocean-centric spirituality. There were characters called War Child and Little Hands, parties around camp fires, and dawn wave-catching sessions. Bodhi is even, in fact, Bodhisattva.
Maybe the remake can use some well-placed cameos/co-stars (Anthony Kiedis from Red Hot Chili Peppers popped up the original) to give it that unmistakably 90s feel. Maybe Jared Leto will be part of Butler's bank-robbing gang? Perhaps Matthew Perry could play Utah's meatball sandwich-loving partner?
4. Enough gnarlyness
For all of the original's joss sticks, it was a true action romp. The remake is set to move away from big waves (which seems a shame given Butler's surfing credentials – he starred in the 2012 biographical drama about American surfer Jay Moriarty) and into the world of extreme sports.
It seems an obvious transferral given the skydiving scenes of the original, though it's harder to imagine a group of bank-robbing jet-skiiers or BMX-ers. Perhaps a gang of mask-wearing traceurs would make for an exciting, contemporary revamp.
5. Romantic competition
And finally, no remake will be worth Wimmer's salt if it doesn't involve a female lead who has the original Tyler's ability to look good in a wetsuit (or its extreme sports equivalent), to catch as big a rip curl as the next bodacious babe (ditto on the equivalent), along with her near-fatally bad taste in men.
Lori Petty's sass will be hard to match, but perhaps Kristen Stewart could bring the skills she learnt climbing trees in Forks to a parkour overhaul? Or better yet, perhaps J-Law could give the character more of an extreme remake that sees her clock way ahead of Utah that her boyfriend's a bank-robbing nutter?
More on Point Break
News: Gerard Butler in talks for Point Break remake
Blog: Point Break remake drives fans to breaking point
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