Plot Summary
Johnny Utah (Keanu Reeves) is a rookie FBI Agent and former Ohio State quarterback. He and his veteran partner, Angelo Pappas (Gary Busey), are investigating a string of bank robberies by a gang known as the "Ex-Presidents" (during their robberies they use masks of former Presidents Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Lyndon Johnson, and Jimmy Carter to disguise their true identities).
Pursuing Angelo's theory that the criminals are surfers, Johnny goes undercover to infiltrate the surfing community. Knowing nothing of the sport/lifestyle, he persuades orphan surfer girl Tyler Endicott (Lori Petty) to teach him to surf. In the process, Johnny develops a complex friendship with Bodhi (Patrick Swayze), the charismatic leader of a gang of surfers, Roach (James LeGros), Grommet (Bojesse Christopher) and Nathaniel (John Philbin), who accept Johnny when they realize he is a former college football star. As he masters the art of surfing, Johnny finds himself increasingly drawn to the surfers' adrenaline-charged lifestyle, Bodhi's philosophies, and Tyler.
Following a clue retrieved by analyzing toxins found in the hair of one of the bank robbers, Johnny and Angelo lead an FBI raid on another gang of surfers. While criminals, this group are not the "Ex-Presidents" and the raid inadvertently ruins a DEA undercover operation.
Watching Bodhi's group surfing, Johnny suspects they are the "Ex-Presidents," noting how close a group they are and the way one of them moons everyone in the same manner one of the robbers does when leaving a bank. He tails Bodhi and his suspicions are confirmed when he sees Bodhi and Roach casing a bank. Johnny and Angelo stake out the bank and the "Ex-Presidents" appear. Bodhi (masked the entire time) leads Johnny in a furious foot chase through the neighborhood, culminating in Johnny jumping into an aqueduct and causing an old football injury in his knee to flare up again. Despite having a clear shot at Bodhi (locking eyes with him), Johnny cannot bring himself to shoot and Bodhi escapes.
Bodhi aggressively recruits Johnny into going skydiving with him and his friends. Johnny, still without proof of Bodhi's bank robbing, goes along. After the jump, Bodhi reveals that he knows Johnny is an FBI agent and has arranged for his friend Rosie (Lee Tergesen), a non-surfing thug, to hold Tyler hostage. Johnny is forced to go with the "Ex-Presidents" in their last bank robbery of the summer. The robbery goes wrong as Grommet, along with an off-duty police officer and a security guard who try to stop the robbery, are killed. Angered by Grommet's death, Bodhi knocks Johnny out and leaves him at the scene.
Defying their boss, Angelo and Johnny go to the airport where Bodhi, Roach, and Nathaniel are about to leave for Mexico (where Rosie awaits them with Tyler). In a shootout, Angelo and Nathaniel are killed, while Roach is seriously wounded. With Roach aboard, Bodhi forces Johnny onto the plane at gunpoint. Once airborne and over their intended jump point, Bodhi and Roach put on parachutes and jump from the plane, leaving Johnny to take the blame again. With no other parachutes available, Johnny jumps from the plane with Bodhi's gun, managing to intercept him before he lands, but Bodhi forces him to drop the gun so he can open their parachute and land safely. Upon impact, Johnny's knee gives out, allowing Bodhi to escape Johnny's grasp. Bodhi meets with Rosie and releases Tyler. Roach dies of his wounds and Bodhi and Rosie leave with the money.
Nine months later, Johnny tracks down Bodhi at Bells Beach in Victoria, Australia, where a record storm is producing lethal waves. This is an event Bodhi had talked about experiencing, calling it the "50 Year Storm". After a brutal fight in the surf, Johnny manages to handcuff himself and Bodhi together. Bodhi begs Johnny to release him so he can ride the once-in-a-lifetime wave. Knowing he will not come back alive, Johnny releases him and watches, with the authorities, as Bodhi goes to his death. Johnny walks away, throwing his FBI badge into the ocean.
Read more about this topic: Point Break
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