Basic

I read a review in my local paper saying that this film was boring. But I like John Travolta and wanted to see it to form my own opinion and my opinion was that it was really good. I think there were a lot of plot twists and turns and you really had to pay attention to see where things were going, if you didn't watch every second of it then you were going to miss something crucial to the plotline. I think this is one of the best movies of the last year, no matter what other people say. I liked it, and so did my whole family. Two thumbs up!

Basic engages your attention pretty early on and keeps you guessing throughout with the twists and turns in the storyline and its refreshingly unexpected ending.

As you would expect Travolta and Jackson are both superb, as is Connie Neilson. The characters build well, the writing is very solid, and the story is quite original.

All in all 'Basic' is a good thriller that is a little complex and confusing for the casual movie fan.

Definitely worth watching, but not a classic

7/10

Tagged by many critics as overly predictable despite trying to be the complete opposite, BASIC is nevertheless a strong, original and entertaining film.

The cast, from big names John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson to lesser-knowns Connie Nielsen and Taye Diggs, ably unravels the mystery surrounding the disappearance of a reviled army sergeant during a hardcore training outing. The episode is recounted in as many ways by as many witnesses, an interesting method that has worked so well in other films such as COURAGE UNDER FIRE. It may all seem confusing at first, but gifted director John McTiernan gradually weaves everything together, though perhaps not as seamlessly as one would ideally prefer.

BASIC is not without its flaws, but they are not as glaring as one might think from professional reviews, or even many of the comments on this website. Its originality is welcome at a time when so many films follow the same cookie-cutter formula.

Infamously cruel Sergeant West takes his unit into the Panama jungle on a training exercise. Two days later two of his men return and report the rest dead. When the base investigator makes no process, the base commander calls in shamed DEA agent Hardy. The investigation continues well with both of the two men telling their stories, however Hardy finds that the stories contradict themselves and that the truth is much, much more complex than first appeared.

For the majority of this film everything goes the way you expect it to, but yet it all still works reasonably well. The plot twists in several ways as each contradiction brings out a bit more truth in the overall tale. It is filled with dramatic interrogation scenes which, although clichéd, do still serve to be reasonably gripping. However at some point, and I can't say exactly when it happens, the sheer volume of twists and the leaps we are expected to make simply become too much for the quality of the material and it more or less collapses in on itself.

It isn't that the twists are too much of a stretch, it's that they are too much of a stretch for this film. Usual Suspects has massive twists that bewilder and require big jumps, but that had the acting and script to back it up. Here the same isn't true, the script doesn't do a good enough job of gradually revealing a story to us just to twist it; instead it just seems to be constantly changing the foundations to the point that I felt I was on quick sand rather than a base where the walls kept moving (if you get my meaning). What I'm saying is that the story didn't set itself up well enough to provide killer twists, instead it was constantly pulling small then bigger twist after twist - to the point where I was expecting the next one before it arrived. Not to unfairly compare, but Usual Suspects gradually added layers rather than twists as it builds to a climax. Basic just keeps twisting but eventually gets to the point where it overstretches itself and the twists lose their impact.

The dramatic tone suffers for this reason and, after a good start it all too quickly loses it's impact. Travolta tries hard and for the most part he does OK, but his slick character loses it towards the end, and his final `winks' are not easy to understand. I got the feeling that he didn't understand his character anymore that I did. Jackson gives a better performance in flashback although his character is pretty much a basic sergeant-major cliché, until the ending goes and ruins a fair amount of what he had done up till that point. Nielsen is pretty good but gives a masculine performance in a masculine film. The support cast is actually pretty good although Ribisi damaged his reputation with me by doing some sort of weak effeminate spoof character. Diggs, Holt, Daly and Sanchez all do pretty well and their solid flashback sequences help the interrogation to be more dramatic.

Overall this film is too twisty and some of them really demand jumps that are just not made possible by a script that doesn't do enough to help the audience out. It still manages to be pretty dramatic and enjoyable for at least the first half, but the final third demands too much and twists too much for the material to cope with. Not as awful as other reviews lead me to expect but it collapses alarmingly fast towards the end.

The movie deals upon a commando of brave soldiers . During the training , the sergeant (Samuel L. Jackson) is killed . A previously soldier and now DEA agent (John Travolta) has to solve who is the killer . He investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army ranger drill sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry . He's helped by an officer (Connie Nielsen) . They will have to face off difficult enigmas until to find out the truth .

The picture blends action , suspense , whodunit , thriller , emotions and is pretty entertaining . The flick is tense and mysterious from the beginning till ending and is neither boring , nor dull but entertaining . The screenplay of the film has a twisted plot and the final gets an extraordinary surprise . Runtime film is overlong but is fast-moving and for that reason is amusing . The movie is similar to classic ¨Rashomon¨ (by Akira Kurosawa) and ¨The Outrage¨ (by Martin Ritt) , regarding deeds since various points of sight as people explain them . Every time the story of the bunker is retold , each person has a different partner . Interpretation by John Travolta is top-notch likeness to Connie Nielsen . Samuel L. Jackson's acting is limited , he has a secondary but excellent role . Direction by John McTiernan is outstanding and stunning . The picture will appeal to mystery enthusiasts and suspense lovers . Rating : 7/10 above average. Well worth watching.