Bodhi might be one of the most coolest movie characters of all time and it’s largely due to how well Patrick Swayze portrayed him Point Break. I’ve watched this movie countless times and it never seems to get old, even if I’ve seen it multiple times in week-long period. Something about the guy is just pure despite his penchant for robbing banks and living on the edge. The character was hypnotizing in a way, he’d suck you into his world without even trying and make you believe that his lifestyle was a thing of pure zen and could be questioned, examined, and even dissected and it wouldn’t matter. He was just Bodhi, and that’s all that was important.
But beneath the cool and calm exterior there was a storm brewing. He wasn’t always the calm, collected, and cool guy that he presented to the world at large. Sometimes he was a tempest just waiting to happen, a storm waiting to be unleashed upon anyone that wasn’t aware of his intent. And yet despite that he remained so calm about, so absolutely controlled that you couldn’t shake him unless you managed to get so far into his world that you could actually find the weak spots. That’s what Johnny Utah did after all, he found a way in and he used it to the greatest extent.
Of course Bodhi had what you would call survivalist contingencies. Once his cover was blown and someone saw past his cool and collected demeanor he went into a mode that was best described as the cornered animal setting. He lost his cool a bit during the movie when his buddies started dying, but it returned pretty quickly when he and Utah were descending upon the desert floor with only one parachute between them and the gun in Utah’s hand cocked and ready to blow Bodhi’s brains all across the sand. Right then he was calm, cool, and knew he had the upper hand.
Danger and the very real existence of an end was what calmed Bodhi strangely enough. He couldn’t stand to watch those around him be hurt or killed, but when it was his own life on the line he was completely calm. I don’t know if that makes him the coolest person or the craziest in movies, or both. It does show that despite all his faults he did have a heart, though it was just as messed up as his strange balance of zen and chaos. One thing is for certain though, the Bodhi played by Patrick Swayze blew away the one played in the most recent representation of Point Break.
Granted, the effects in the new movie were awesome and very impressive, but the feeling wasn’t there. Utah and Bodhi didn’t entertain the same dynamic as they did in the first movie, and that’s part of what killed the new version. The fight between Utah and Bodhi at the end of the original movie was great enough on its own that it kind of makes my point about Bodhi being calm and collected one moment and ready to shift into survival mode in the next. It’s so awesome that I decided to dig it up for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78s7DO5eehQ
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