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Fans angry over big-budget Point Break remake

The 1991 action flick Point Break didn’t exactly smash it at the box office (it pulled a respectable US$83.5 million), but it left its mark in other ways.

Firstly, it launched its star Keanu Reeves into the action movie stratosphere. After Point Break, he was well-equipped to star in massive hits like Speed and The Matrix.

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Secondly, it has stayed a classic thanks to its excellent action montages, which hold up even in today’s CGI-heavy landscape.

Finally, it was a ridiculous genre mash up that, against all odds, was weird enough to work – thanks in part to the charisma of Patrick Swayze and the crazy of Gary Busey.

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the original.

Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze in the original.

Rated R, produced by James Cameron and directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow, it was highly quotable, thrilling and unique.

Of course, the formula of attractive young surfers committing crimes was a little too tempting for new Hollywood to resist and, thus, we’ve been given a remake no one asked for.

The trailer for the 2015 version, which reportedly cost around $100 million, dropped online this week and responses have been mixed.

First of all, director Ericson Core and writer Kurt Wimmer have seemingly taken the movie away from its surfing roots and made it about extreme sports in general.

It also features a handful of Aussie actors, including former Home and Away actor Luke Bracey in Reeves’ original role as Detective Johnny Utah.

Meanwhile, Venezuelan actor Edgar Ramirez is Bodhi, a role originally played by Patrick Swayze.

Some feel the remake has missed the point of the original, favouring action for action’s sake to create what is essentially a Fast and the Furious clone.

There are concerns the movie may go the way of recent RoboCop and Total Recall do-overs, which upped the CGI and action but lacked the ironic humour and heart of the originals.

Others take issue with the fact the film didn’t need to be remade in the first place, or with Hollywood’s habit for remakes in general.

The movie is also lacking in a few elements from the beloved original, most notably the masks the bank robbers wore featuring faces of former US presidents.

Whether it will be a box office success remains to be seen since it features no big names to speak of, but in the meantime you can watch the trailer and decide for yourself below.

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