Basic: Anything but!

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I just saw the movie Basic today. My head is still spinning.

It's aptly named, if you want to go into how cool I find the title.

BASIC is about a murder investigation. Murder is described as basic. Anyone can be a killer. But, like an onion, this story keeps revealing layers. By the end of the movie I wanted to pull all my hair out. I have to see it again to make sure I got everything straight. It turns out Basic is anything BUT basic. And murder is more complex than imagined.

Anyone else seen John Travolta's latest? Oh, and I liked it. :D

[sirdizzy]

Basic (2003)


Drama, Crime/Gangster and Thriller 1 hr. 35 min
MPAA Rating: R for violence and language.
Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Harry Connick Jr., Taye Diggs
Directed by: John McTiernan

Army Rangers are taught to be the best of the best. Their training is grueling to almost the point of death. But in the end they turn out to be the best soldiers and most dangerous of men. Sgt. Nathan West is the person in charge of making them as tough as they can be. He does not take his job lightly and he runs his men to almost the point of torture to make them the best of the best. In a rainy Panama that is experiencing a hurricane he has set them on their latest training exercise but something goes terribly wrong. When the pilots come to pick up the men from the exercise they find a ranger Raymond Dunbar carrying another ranger Levi when all of a sudden one of his own men fires on him. Raymond fires back on him and kills him. Now the military has one man in custody, another man in the hospital and the last men in a body bag. But their had been seven men that had gone on the mission including Sgt. West, so what has happened to other four men. The colonel of the base faced with a tough situation and a rookie interrogator calls upon an old friend to help him out. That man is Tom Hardy and ex-ranger who now works for the DEA and is under suspicion for taking bribes from a drug cartel. But he is suppose to be the best at interrogation and the colonel needs to unravel the mystery of these men in a hurry before his own butt is in a sling from the incident. So Hardy and the female interrogator Julia Osborne go about unraveling the mystery of the men they have in custody. But their stories don’t collaborate and the more questions they ask the more questions they have as they find themselves wading neck deep in turbulent waters.

This movie is a thriller and drama that throws so many twists at you that there is no possible way that you could ever guess where the movie is taking you. But that is the movies charm and what makes it so good, it is like trying to solve a mystery or a puzzle that seems to have no answer. The movie has so many twists and turns you are certain at times that what has thrown at you can’t be right but you can’t help guessing maybe it is. The movie makes no apologies to the viewer for constantly tricking them and continues to take you on a roller coaster ride tell the very last scene when it lets you in on the secret. This movie will probably lose its luster after the first viewing as you already know the ending but it is still one hell of a ride the first time around. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson should get together for more movies as they work masterfully together. This movie was no exception as they stole the show once again and seemed to just propel the movie and keep you thoroughly entranced throughout. Samuel L. Jackson is back to the part that fits him best as the hard-nosed bad <smallfont color={hovercolor}>-Censored-</smallfont> that he has made so famous. And Travolta is back to the parts that seem made for him of the quirky, troubled character from movies like Face/Off. The movie is an action packed thrill ride that will confuse you, enthrall you and most importantly entertain you.
4 stars out of 5

[Darth Viscera]

Sounds like Courage Under Fire.

[ReaperFett]

I've heard it's a bit rubbish, but you take two of the coolest actors around, and you WILL take my money :)

[Shawn]

Likewise. I've heard that it's a horrible movie with insane amounts of product placements. I'll see it if I don't have to pay for it.

[CMJ]

I rented this today, not expecting much...and was quite impressed. One of the few film "mysteries" that totally floored me. Even after seeing it I'm not totally sure what happened.

[Nathanial K'cansce]

One of my friends said he watched it recently, and that it made him think. A lot.


He promptly told me right then that I'd like it very much. I like movies that make me think, if done correctly by my standards.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

I still haven't seen it again, but I'll probably rent it. It was decently good, and VERy surprising. ^_^

[Jedi Master Carr]

I saw it tonight I thought it was a very good movie and the ending was shocking but in a good way I loved how they all turned out to be alive except the bad guys and Sam and Travolta both good guys :). I was also shocked to see Tim Daly from Wings fame the bad guy a different role for him.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

It suffered from horrible word of mouth. I think everyone just assumed it was going to suck, and didn't listen to anyone who said otherwise.

[CMJ]

I know a few people that thought it was impossibly confusing. Since when was that a bad thing? o_O

[Mu Satach]

hmm... I'll have to rent this... after I get paid... :cry

my savings are gone... my savings are gone... oh woah is me...

;)