Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow (1996)

Director: John Woo

Writer: Graham Yost

Cast: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Bob Gunton, Frank Whaley, Howie Long, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Kurtwood Smith

Synopsis:

Air Force pilots Vic Deakins (Travolta) and Riley Hale (Slater) are sent on a training mission to fly a B-2 stealth bomber carrying two live nuclear missiles to test for radiation emissions over the Utah desert. When Deakins attempts to kill Hale as part of his plan to steal the nukes and ransom them back to the U.S. government for $250 million, the bomber crashes. During the struggle, the bombs are deployed and become lost in the desert. With the help of park ranger Abbey Carmichael (Mathis), Hale must disarm both bombs before Deakins can use them to blow up a large portion of the American Southwest. Violence ensues. 

First Impressions:

I don't think I caught this one in theaters, but I did watch it some months later on home video. At this point, I was already a John Woo fan after watching his previous American film, Hard Target. While I enjoyed this movie a great deal upon first viewing it, I didn't quite enjoy it as much as Hard Target. Still, I found the action satisfying (if a little over the top), and I felt it was a fun movie. It's been a very long time since I've seen this movie and, during that period, many of Woo's American films have lost a bit of their sheen in my eyes. However, I'm excited to pop this one back in the Blu-Ray player and reacquaint myself with it. 

Story/Direction: 

"I don't know what's scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there's actually a term for it."

 There's not a ton of meat to this particular story, which is really just there to move us from one action set-piece to another. But then again, who really watches an action movie for the story anyway? The plot revolves around Deakins' plans to hold Salt Lake City hostage with a couple of nuclear weapons, and Hale has to try and stop him. The story requires some suspension of disbelief as Deakins is one of those villains that always seems to have a plan for every contingency. Still, Woo keeps things moving briskly and doesn't dwell on extraneous issues all that much. 

The film opens with Deakins and Hale in the middle of sparing in the boxing ring. In this quick opening, Woo does a good job setting up the relationship between the two characters. We know that Deakins is Hale's superior officer, and we know that there's a reluctant student/mentor relationship and a fairly deep rivalry. As the plot begins to open up, we learn more about the characters' states of mind through quick conversations that don't get too bogged down in exposition. To be clear, these aren't exactly the deepest motivations, but they're enough to serve the story. Once the B-2 crashes and the plot gets into full swing, the story takes a back seat, and the film jumps from action sequence to action sequence. But really, the film isn't about the nukes at all; that's just the backdrop behind the rivalry between Hale and Deakins. From that perspective, the film's plot works just fine.

Acting/Characters:

So, the acting here is a bit of a mixed bag. Travolta was the headline actor in the film, and, personally, I think this is a pretty hammy performance. Travolta opted to over-enunciate his lines, which made the character seem incredibly arrogant but also incredibly annoying. Deakins is given most of the film's funniest lines, which is something, but overall, I never cared for this portrayal all that much.

On the other hand, Christian Slater does a decent job as the film's protagonist Riley Hale. Don't get me wrong, the Academy wasn't chucking Oscars at him or anything, but Slater has a distinctive smarmy charm that works in an action hero role. 

The rest of the cast ranges from decent to awful. Delroy Lindo and Vondie Curtis-Hall are always top-notch and had nice turns as Col. Wilkins and Lt. Col. Rhodes, respectively. Frank Whaley does a good job as Giles, the milquetoast aide to the White House Chief of Staff. On the other end of the spectrum is former NFL player Howie Long's portrayal of Deakins' right-hand man Kelly. Let's just say Long's performance was right up there with Wilt Chamberlain's role in Conan the Destroyer. Ugh.

Visual/Special Effects:

BOOM! KAPOW! BLAMO! That's my not-so-subtle way of saying there's a lot of explosions in this film. Pyrotechnics definitely make up the majority of the movie's special effects budget. However, there's some decent model work done in the scenes that include an operating B-3 bomber as well as numerous helicopter crashes. Overall, the SFX are solid and don't take one out of the movie. 

Score/Soundtrack:

I half expected to see Michael Kamen's name attached to this film as he's made a career out of composing scores for mindless action films. Needless to say, I was fairly surprised when I saw Hans Zimmer's name as the composer (that's two movies in a row, now). While I mentioned in my review of Gladiator that I find Zimmer's scores somewhat hit or miss, I really liked the music for this film. It's very quiet compared to most films in the genre, but it has a smooth southwestern feel that really melds well with the subject matter. Top marks.

Action:

John Woo was basically the architect of how action movies in the 90s were presented, and this film holds to a lot of the same tropes present in many of his earlier films. Woo makes liberal use of slo-mo photography during action sequences with participants leaping gracefully through the air, pistols akimbo. Woo will often start a shot off in slo-mo, then shift abruptly to normal speed, which has a jarring effect on the viewer but does a good job conveying the chaos of the situation. Action is, of course, Woo's wheelhouse, and we're treated to some pretty cool scenes, such as a firefight in an abandoned mine, a fun chase across the desert in humvees and a climactic sequence on top of a moving train. 

Final Verdict:

This is still an entertaining movie. People looking for award-caliber acting or high concept plots need not bother with it. However, fans of 90s action movies will find a lot to like.