"Among the film's especially energetic sequences are a furious two-man chase on foot through a heavily populated neighborhood, shot vigorously with a hand-held camera; sustained and amazing sky-diving scenes guaranteed to make the palms sweat, and a police raid on a house that becomes a wild melee and turns a lawnmower into a potentially deadly weapon. This last episode, and others like it, prove definitively that testosterone-crazed movie violence is by no means the sole province of male directors. Especially fiery and scene-stealing is Gary Busey, as the gruff Nick Nolte-style wild man who is Johnny's F.B.I. partner and foil. Mr. Swayze, more tranquil, is best when showing off his proficiency for glamorous athletics and least good when taking the screenplay seriously. When another character says, of Mr. Swayze's Bodhi, "He's got this gift for blankness," the thought seems all too true."

"This turns out to be one of those beach bum-cosmic high armed robberies with which Southern California F.B.I. agents are no doubt constantly plagued. And Johnny turns out to be the perfect candidate for the job of surfing detective. He looks good in a wet suit. He figures out how to extract information from a nice-looking female surf expert (Lori Petty). Pretty soon he is showing up at the office saying things like "Caught my first tube this morning, sir." He totes his surfboard with him to prove the point."

"Bigelow and her crew are also gifted filmmakers. There's a footchase through the streets, yards, alleys and living rooms of Santa Monica; two skydiving sequences with virtuoso photography, powerful chemistry between the good and evil characters, and an ominous, brooding score by Mark Isham that underlines the mood. The plot of "Point Blank," summarized, invites parody (rookie agent goes undercover as surfer to catch bank robbers). The result is surprisingly effective."

"The bodhi tree, according to the Buddhists, is the tree beneath which one finds enlightenment. That is not exactly how it works with Bodhi, the surfing bank robber who is the existential hero of "Point Break," but he is such a persuasive character that a young FBI agent falls under his spell. Or maybe it is Southern California itself that attracts the agent - that land of surf and skydiving and strange karma, so seductive to a square football hero out of Ohio."

"This stuff was so revolutionary that Hollywood took almost a decade to catch up. In some respects, Point Break’s effect on pop culture was immediate: it brought extreme sports into the mainstream and made Reeves the 1990s’ defining action star, just as Bigelow predicted. But it was only ten years later, with the success of The Fast and the Furious – a car-based Point Break remake in all but name – that brotherly love and beautiful men had become ingrained in action-movie culture."

"What’s more, the male-on-female perving is staged as a groan-worthy gag. Johnny is all but tripping over his tongue as he spies on Tyler through binoculars while she changes out of her swimsuit. The film’s admiration for Reeves’ and Swayze’s bodies, on the other hand, is subtler – and coded into every shot. Look out, for instance, for the almost indiscernible drop into slow-motion in the sequence where Johnny showers at the beach: it’s one of the stealthiest phwoars in modern cinema. It’s unlikely that a male director would have had the nerve for this – or that two more established male stars, with hard-won hard-man reputations to defend, would have thrown themselves into it with quite so much gusto. In a promotional interview, Swayze described the film as being miles from “slap-ass, macho, jokey crap…I wanted to play it like a love story between two men.” In 80s action movies, the male body is a weapon of war. Point Breakturns it into a source of pleasure. And pleasure is what Point Break’s leads are chasing. Whether surfing, skydiving, playing American football or robbing banks in rubber masks, it’s all in pursuit of what Tyler purringly calls “the ultimate ride”: a thrill so big it recalibrates your worldview."

"It's not about good guys and bad guys. It's a little more complicated when your good guy-your hero-is seduced by the darkness inside him and your 'villain' is no villain whatsoever, he's more of an anti-hero."

"In California, you can party, have sex and surf, before it's time to go to work."

"27 banks in three years - anything to catch the perfect wave!"

"100% Pure Adrenaline."

"I'm so hungry I could eat the ass end out of a dead rhino, I should have had you get me three of these things!"

"If you want the ultimate rush, you've got to be willing to pay the ultimate price. It's not tragic to die doing what you love."

"I'm a little tired, I'm a little wired, and I think I deserve a little appreciation!"

"Master P. - Johnny B"

"Trevor Goddard - Don"

"Frances Fisher - Junie Halliwell"

"Grace Zabriskie - Helen Raines"

"William Lee Scott - Toby"

"Chi McBride - Donny Astricky"

"Timothy Olyphant - Detective Drycoff"

"James Duval - Freb"

"Scott Caan - Tumbler"

"Vinnie Jones - Sphinx"

"Will Patton - Atley Jackson"

"Robert Duvall - Otto Halliwell"

"Delroy Lindo - Detective Roland Castlebeck"

"Christopher Eccleston - Raymond Vincent "Carpenter" Calitri"

"Giovanni Ribisi - Kip Raines"

"I am a baaaad man."

"Angelina Jolie - Sara "Sway" Wayland"

"Nicolas Cage - Randall "Memphis" Raines"

"Sphinx: If his unpleasant wounding has in some way enlightened the rest of you as to the grim finish beneath the glossy veneer of criminal life and inspired you to change your ways, then his injuries carries with it an inherent nobility and a supreme glory. We should all be so fortunate. You say, "poor Toby". I say, "poor us"."

"Sway: Hello, ladies. I always was a sucker for a redhead."

"Sway: I've got two jobs. I've discovered that you have to work twice as hard when it's honest."

"Sway: Next I'll pull out the leather, high heels, and pink underwear for you."

"Donny: Any asshole can pull a gun on somebody! You don't know the first thing about stealing a car! You need a role model!"

"[Blackmailing Memphis] One: You kill me, they kill you, your brother dies anyway. Two: You lie, you accept the job, you take your brother, you run. I hunt you down, I kill you, I kill your brother and I kill your mother for the aggravation you cause me. Three: You accept the job, you steal some cars, you make some money, and you be a big brother."

"They threw us out of England, they threw us out of France, so here we are. Flourishing, really, except for the minor inconvenience of despising everything about your country."

"I try to learn your ways, understand your obsessions. But this baseball, it's so bleeding boring. Isn't it?"

"The ladies are dirty. Walk away. The ladies are dirty."

"Having sex or boosting cars... Um, oo! Uh. How about having sex WHILE boosting cars?"

"Brigitte Auber - Danielle Foussard"

"Georgette Anys - Germaine"

"Jean Martinelli - Foussard"

"Charles Vanel - Bertani"

"John Williams - H. H. Hughson"

"Jessie Royce Landis - Jessie Stevens"

"Grace Kelly - Francie Stevens"

"Cary Grant - John Robie"

"For a moment he forgets he's a thief—and she forgets she's a lady!"