Johnny Utah: Keanu Reeves’ most important character
While Keanu Reeves has invariably given some of the most iconic character portrayals in the history of modern cinema, including his eternally memorable efforts as Neo in The Matrix and John Wick in the eponymous action series, there’s one movie that serves as perhaps the most important of his illustrious and enviable career.
Reeves had come through the ranks into the bright lights of Hollywood with efforts in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure and the independent drama My Own Private Idaho. The latter film was released in 1991, and it was that very same year that Reeves proved his action hero credentials with a stunning and timeless performance in Kathryn Bigelow’s surf crime action thriller Point Break.
Portraying the young undercover FBI agent, Reeves gave one of his best showings, an effort that has undoubtedly withstood the test of time some three decades into the future and counting. Former Ohio State quarterback Johnny Utah arrives on the Los Angeles police scene to assist Gary Busey’s seasoned FBI Agent Angelo Pappas.
Together, the pair begin to investigate a series of bank robbers known as the ex-Presidents, who seem to be linked to a group of surfers led by Patrick Swayze’s idealistic and enigmatic Bodhi. What follows are some of the most intense and iconic set pieces of action cinema that not only wowed audiences from start to finish but also proved that Reeves would always be a good option for action movies in the future.
Considering his previous experience in front of the camera, there had been widespread scepticism surrounding Reeves and the idea of whether he could really handle an action role. Still, Point Break director Kathryn Bigelow saw the potential within the young Canadian actor and stood by her man even when the film’s producers were urging her to look elsewhere.
Long before Reeves had portrayed John Wick and Neo, he’d mostly been known for his daft, stoner effort in the Bill & Ted movies, but that was about to change… well, somewhat change anyway. The truth is that while Johnny Utah can handle himself with a gun, in a tense chase scene, on the surfboard and even in a deadly skydiving situation, Reeves doused his portrayal in what his FBI senior indeed describes as an air of “young, dumb and full of cum”.
After all, let’s not kid ourselves: Reeves has not ever really wowed audiences with a performance of genuine emotion, bringing us to tears in the way that some of the all-time great actors might have done. But what he has done is play characters that seem at once larger-than-life and yet somewhat believable—in the case of Utah, the everyday stoner within us who has somehow found themselves in a professional position.
It might be easy to say that Utah represents Reeves’ most important career moment because it invariably led him to his other notable roles. But the real reason that it’s his most vital role is because it largely set the right limitations, a sense of being able to command a screen and audience without ever really needing to transcend the requirements of a particular character.
In no uncertain terms, Point Break is a fucking masterpiece, and in Reeves, it finds its dopey, loveable hero, a man who overcomes the disappointment of his football career-ending injury, sees through the illusion of policework and finds a sense of peace and wonder in the glory of waves. None of that would be possible without the brilliance of Reeves.
