Rendező:
John McTiernanForgatókönyvíró:
James VanderbiltOperatőr:
Steve MasonZeneszerző:
Klaus BadeltSzereplők:
John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Brian Van Holt, Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs, Roselyn Sanchez, Dash Mihok, Harry Connick, Jr. (több)Tartalmak(1)
Nathan West őrnagy az Egyesült Államok különleges osztagának egyik elit egységét vezeti. Az őrnagy módszerei hatékonyak, de agresszív viselkedése és heves vérmérséklete miatt katonái nem szívesen szolgálnak alatta. Egy látszólag rutin-bevetés során Panamában, egy hurrikán sodor végig a táboron, ahol West éppen az embereivel állomásozik. A vihar elvonultával az őrnagy négy emberét holtan találják, West pedig nyom nélkül eltűnik. Két túlélő katona maradt csupán, de mindketten más történetet adnak elő a nyomozásra kirendelt ex-kommandósnak, aki egykor szintén West alatt szolgált, és aki időközben elsőrangú kihallgató-tiszt lett. (TV2)
(több)Recenziók (3)
A múltbéli események kezdeti, visszatekintő jeleneteken keresztül történő felderítése annyira unalmas és nem érdekes, hogy egyáltalán nem vonz be a cselekménybe, és az első nagy fordulat után már azt sem tudod, hol van az észak. Pedig csak a film felénél járunk, és még vagy tíz ilyen fordulat vár ránk, plusz egy utolsó, amely Keyser Söze fejét is kilyukasztana. A probléma ezzel a filmmel az, hogy John McTiernan nem Bryan Singer. És az esőerdőben játszódó ragadozó akció nem a forgatókönyvének prioritása. Egy hihetetlenül túlkombinált és zavaros mese, amelyet kiváló színészek sem tudnak megmenteni.
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Basic was supposed to be a comeback for both Johns McTiernan and Travolta. Well, neither of them made it back into the spotlight with this film. But finding the culprit is a little more complicated. The idea of screenwriter James Vanderbilt was not bad at all. The various combinations of one theme - the death of a despised officer - leave ample room for the audience's imagination and contemplation, only to be ultimately shocked by the "twist" at the end. I would like to say that I "swallowed it hook, line, and sinker," but that wasn't the case. No, I really didn't guess the final scene, but I also wasn't given the opportunity to do so. The barrage of flashbacks, where testimonies, events, and even characters change, didn't glue me to my seat. About half an hour before the end, I completely gave up on the whole resolution of the case, and without much interest, I let the film sail to the "end," which, after the whole escapade of making fun of the audience, feels more like a precisely aimed slap in the face than a real "shock." Director McTiernan also doesn’t get away unscathed with a pass saying, "it's all the screenplay's fault." The opening foray into the jungle is so reminiscent of Predator that it brings tears of emotion to weaker souls. McTiernan definitely knows how to handle action, but in this film, there is not enough of it – after all, it is a "detective drama" – and he has never been one for too much blabbing. The characters are introduced quickly, but so briefly that I only realized after the end credits that the only truly standout performance was by Samuel L. Jackson as the leader of the West team because he was a real bastard. I would like to write more about other characters, but how can I write about someone when I don't remember them the day after watching the movie? John Travolta reprised his role from The General's Daughter but this time, he seemed even more tired and overacted quite a bit. When he casually laid his not-so-young body on the table during an interrogation, it made me feel strong discomfort in my stomach. Connie Nielsen seems to be afraid of Travolta and in his presence, she retreats into the background and recites her learned lines without a hint of interest. Basic isn't actually a bad movie, it's just poorly acted and badly and tediously directed. After fixing all these flaws, we’d have a "military investigative drama" that fits perfectly. I’m giving it three stars mainly because I also gave them to West's The General's Daughter, and besides, this film is slightly worse than McTiernan's latest work, which is not a victory for John either. Actually, for neither of them.
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This could have been a military crime story with an unremarkable twist. And if the creators wanted to mess up the finale, they could have had two twists. But Basic ends up being anything but for the audience and in the final twenty-minute mess, the motivation of one of the characters changes every three minutes. I didn't care about the ending at all, and Basic leaves the impression of a joke targeting the viewer themselves. If this is supposed to be John McTiernan's farewell to arms, it's quite a crying shame.
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