Should have given it a different name

Rating: 4/10 (1 January 2016)

Back in the early nineties there was this movie released starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves where the FBI were attempting to track down a gang of bank robbers known as the Ex-Presidents gang, and one of the agents suspected that they were a group of surfers. That movie was really cool, however for some bizarre reason they decided to remake the movie and this film was the result. I actually didn't think that this film was a bad film, but the main reason that I gave it such a low rating is because instead of creating a stand-alone film with fresh characters, they decided to simply turn it into a remake. This, in my honest opinion, is little more than lazy script writing.
What we have in this film are a group of extreme sportsmen who are 'chasing the eight', eight tasks which are considered to be the pinnacle of extreme sports and are supposed to make you one with nature. The trailer suggests that they are committing these robberies so as to fund their adventures, but it becomes pretty clear than they are only doing them as a part of the thrill. In a way this gang are a group of eco-terrorists, and the robberies are more of a Robin Hood escapade than anything else.
The visual effects are spectacular, and the idea of a group of eco-terrorists seeking out these eight challenges does make a good basis for a film, however as I have mentioned, to actually put this into a remake of a much earlier film demonstrates that whoever put this film together couldn't be bothered creating original characters, or even original names. Mind you, it has been a while since I watched the original Point Break, but it has been suggested that some films should just be left alone. The original movie simply dealt with a bunch of adrenaline junkies, but there was much more to the characters than there appeared to be in this film. For instance the original Johnny Utah actually had a significant flaw that would hinder his ability to be able to get his man. It seemed, in this film, that they just used the clichéd element of watching his friend die, which didn't seem to add all that much to it – and in any case, how could a guy with such a psychological drag make it as far as he did in the FBI training.
So, if you like extreme sports, and some spectacular scenery, then it isn't a bad movie, however try to put out of your mind the movie upon what this is based (which I have to say is hard to do at time, especially since it carries the same title).