Point Break Analysis

**Analysis: The meaning of Point Break is that you can’t judge a book by its cover.**

Examples that support this Point Break analysis:

Johnny Utah

– He appears to be the surfer-type, even though he is really an FBI agent
– Tyler falls for the story he makes up about his parents
– In the end, Johnny lets go of his FBI position, defying the police who hung back at his request

Bodhi is good at not judging a book by its cover

– Even after he realizes that Johnny is an FBI agent, he still wants to appeal to Johnny as a human
– He understands that surfing is more about feeling the wave than seeing the wave, making it possible to surf at night
– He understands that it appears deadly to jump out of plane but it actually makes a person feel alive
– He never reaches his “breaking point” until the end, unlike the other characters in the film
– He uses the President mask to hide his identity, and this is a statement in itself

Other characters who defy expectations

– Papas seems like the old agent who doesn’t know anything, but he is correct about his theory that the Presidents are actually surfers
– The surfers who attack Johnny are not the robbers
– The FBI boss seems tough but is knocked out with a single punch from Papas