July 15, 1991 -- ``Point Break'' is the new cop movie in town, a high energy summer thriller. Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves star in this mixture of cop buddy movie, surfing and Zen.

Gary Busey and Keanu Reeves are the odd-couple FBI agents in the film, with Busey doing a pretty good imitation of Nick Nolte as a burnt-out cop. Reeves is a surprise as a romantic lead. He does a good job with a role much different from his well-known portrayals of flaky adolescents.

Reeves and Swayze, flying high after his success in ``Ghost,'' carry the film along with Lori Petty as Reeves' lover and ex-girlfriend of Swayze.

Swayze is the head of a gang of surfers who rob banks and Busey and Reeves are out to get the surfers, who wear masks of Presidents Reagan, Carter, Johnson and Nixon and call themselves the ex-presidents.

Most of this is standard fare, except for the parachuting stunts and surfing scenes, which are way above average. The aerial sequences, in particular feature very good photography. There is also a well-staged sequence in which Reeves chases Swayze on foot through a residential neighborhood. Some other chase and shootout scenes are more standard fare. There are also some logical flaws in the plot.

The chemistry between the principal actors and actresses is pretty good. The affair between Petty and Reeves is more convincing than many movie romances. There are some unusual plot twists, but on the whole the film has more standard action film elements than unusual ones. The director, Kathryn Bigelow, previously directed ``Blue Steel'' and this film has the some of that same gritty blue-collar police-work ethic and suspense.

Bigelow could be the next James Cameron (Aliens, Terminator) but she hasn't reached that stage yet. Her pacing is a little slow, character development is shallow and the level of suspense is not quite as high as in Cameron's films. This film rates a B.

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