Deadline reports that Gerard Butler has clinched a pivotal role in Point Break; the very same role that helped to immortalize Patrick Swayze.
The star of Chasing Mavericks has been set to play the Zen adrenaline-junkie bank robber role originated by Patrick Swayze in Point Break, the remake of the 1991 Kathryn Bigelow film that also starred Keanu Reeves. Ericson Core is directing the remake for Alcon Entertainment‘s Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove. Kurt Wimmer wrote the script.
The thing with Gerard, whom I really like as an actor (and he’s not bad on the eyes, amirite, ladies?), is that he’s kind of fucked it all for himself in a way. 2012′s Playing For Keeps was universally panned, with an embarrassingly low 4% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and bombed so hard, it might as well be officially called a casualty of war. Still, his performance in the totally unoriginal, and difficult to watch, Olympus Has Fallen was the only damned thing that was good about that movie.
Still, I’m unsure if a Point Break remake is actually the best thing. The problem with a role like this is that it could go really well or really bad. I’d actually to see Butler get back greatness–no more rom-coms, like, ever–I just don’t know if this is it. We’ll have to see and find out more about the film.