Basic
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Director: John McTiernan Actors: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi Rated: R (Restricted) Retail Price (not our price): $14.99 Release Date: 2003-07-08 Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Run Time: 98 minutes Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 Discs: 1 |
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Editorial Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
1) Product Description
Rashomon meets "A Few Good Men" in this military thriller from director John McTiernan ("Die Hard"). After abrasive sergeant Samuel L. Jackson's training mission in Panama leads to the disappearance of several Army Rangers, disgraced DEA agent John Travolta is called in to investigate. What unfolds is a labyrinthine plot of deception, drugs and death where nothing is what it seems. Timothy Daly, Connie Nielsen, Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs co-star. 99 min. Widescreen; Soundtracks: English Dolby Digital stereo, French Dolby Digital stereo; audio commentary by John McTiernan; featurettes; filmographies; theatrical trailers.2) Amazon.com
If you thought The Recruit was full of surprises, Basic will spin your head around. Assuming that cleverness is its own reward, this military mystery shares many of The Recruit's strengths and weaknesses, offering multi-layered deception as its dramatic raison d'etre. Copping plenty of machismo attitude befitting a semi-effective thriller from Die Hard director John McTiernan, John Travolta stars as an ex-Army Ranger-turned-DEA agent, recruited by an Army investigator (Connie Nielsen) to solve the fratricide of a reviled Sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson) who was allegedly killed while commanding a Special Forces training mission in the hurricane-swept rainforests of Panama. Two survivors (Giovanni Ribisi in a showboat role, and Brian Van Holt) recall the ill-fated mission as the truth unfolds, Rashomon-style, in a series of repetitive flashbacks. Tricky enough to hold one's attention as it grows increasingly irrelevant, Basic is so enamored of its bogus ingenuity that its ultimate twist is a letdown. A second viewing might prove rewarding, if only to confirm that it all holds together. --Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews (supplied by Amazon.com):
Average Customer Rating: out of 5
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