Blown Away

Mad bomber formerly associated the IRA escapes from prison and appears in Boston to exact revenge to the man who put him there in the first place - bomb expert Jimmy Dove, a loving family man, with a dark past...

If this plot seems easy to predict, it is. but it is defended by the superb action sequences filmed, the excellent explosions and also by the great acting by Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones. The standout goes to Jones, who gives an on-his-own performance as a deranged bomber at war with Jimmy Dove. And although the storyline has a few plot holes, it still manages to carry on as if nothing happened. Director Hopkins, who helmed the gory 1990 sequel to the 1987 action hit Predator, shows his potential for making action sequences as realistic as possible. One example is the abandoned ship explosion. That has what I think the biggest live action film explosion ever! On the MGM DVD the picture is a clear anamorphic 2.35:1 widescreen with super good Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, thus packing a punch for you home theater system.

Overall, solid entertainment, you're not looking for anything like To Kill A Mockingbird, now are you? A treat for action fans and a must have for home theater enthusiasts.

7.65/10 for entertainment, 6.7/10 overall.

Delton

I was really surprised to read a few other comments on this film praising Tommy Lee Jones' Irish accent - you have got to be kidding !! The whole film stinks and is as bad if not worse than Patriot Games. What is this obsession with deranged IRA killers?? It may come as a shock to some people but all IRA killers are deranged. As are the Boston Police department for allowing one to work for them without checking - maybe they have a few mass murderers in their ranks too. The Bridges family are useless in this film, I think Lloyd was asleep in his scenes, and Jeff has simply made another bad filming decision !! Jones is ok (apart from the accent) and Forrest Whitaker loses his way.

Stuff and nonsense.

How did "Speed" ever get better reviews than this? Whilst De Bont's runaway bus is certainly good, "Blown Away" is by far the better bomb movie as it relies on suspense driven thrills rather than big budget stunts to deliver the kicks. Admittedly the film starts slowly but the pace steadily keeps increasing until the final half-hour where things (literally) explode in one of the best fight scenes ever put on celluloid. Stephen Hopkins plays every scene for as much tension as he can (I defy you to watch the kitchen scene without cringing at every slomo) and displays a De Palma like understanding of virtuoso camerawork. Jones menaces away as his usual psychotic prankster (think Two-Face with an Irish accent) and J Bridges is good but never truly called on to do anything special. Amis, Whitaker and the rest of the support are perhaps a little under-used but the film is never about them. This is about Jones and Bridges in a deadly, vengeful face-off and the final showdown is everything you could ever want from an action thriller. Watch it and enjoy.

From reading the other comments on this site, I was surprised at all the negativity surrounding this film. Sure, the accents are probably bad, but everyone knows that Hollywood can't do accents and aging.

This is not a movie to be picked apart, but one to be enjoyed. Sure, the characters aren't completely fleshed out, but there is enough depth for you to feel for them. The action is good, and despite many contrary opinions, I think the pacing is good too.

One of the high points of this film was the sequence where the wife and daughter are in the house and the audience is left suspecting there may be a bomb plant. The camera shots that frame the stove turning on, the light bulb, the phone jack, etc. were done very well, and suspensefully, though I suspect this well done sequence is what is making many people call this film "slow."

Finally, the use of "The Joshua Tree" by U2 was a really nice touch.

Overall, this film is not outstanding, but if you want a movie that is relatively light, but has some comedy, drama, suspense and action all mixed in, then check it out.

The 90's was a great time for the Action Thriller genre & here the Awesome yet underrated Director, Stephen Hopkins, had his go at a sweaty, thrilling actioner & cast Jeff Bridges as his main Cop lead & he's pretty damn good in the role & makes for an ordinary type guy in an extremely dangerous situation. Bridges plays a good guy Bomb Specialist Cop with a dark past & he's Irish American & the film is set in Boston during a sweaty hot summertime with an extremely deadly terrorist that escaped from prison, is blowing things up & targeting Bridges squad/Bomb unit becomes of their dark past.

The psycho bomber is played manically by the Awesome TOMMY LEE JONES (The Fugitive, Men In Black Trilogy, U. S Marshalls, Volcano) & here Jones is off his nut & reminded me of his crazy & cartoony performance as Two-Face in Batman Forever, he's fun & mental but his Irish accent is pretty bad but he does give it his all as a memorable villain.

Jeff Bridges starts the film dressed & looking exactly like Ace Ventura which made me laugh but he does give a very tense & exhausting performance as he panicks & tries to outwit his arch enemy accross the city. Now I've never been a fan of Bridges simply because he's never done anything I've really liked but here he is great on screen & gives a fine performance for an action Thriller & works well against Tommy's wacky terrorist.

I didn't like the silly music/songs throughout the film & i didn't like the stupid "Irish" themed dreary music at the opening of the film, should've been an exciting & beefed up score for it's opening especially as the score is done by the Legendary Alan Silvestri (Predator, Predator 2, Judgment Night) but his score when the action kicks-in is fine later on in the film.

Cinematography is great & really captures the gritty look of Boston during the summertime.

Stephen Hopkins is such a great Director who made two of my all time favourite films with his PREDATOR 2 (1990) & JUDGMENT NIGHT (1993) & this "Blown Away" came after "Night" in 1994 & it's another classy film from Hopkins.

Another great performance in this suspenseful Thriller is that of the excellent, Forrest Whitaker as the new cocky member of the Bomb Squad.

With plenty of thrilling set-pieces & intense moments with memorable performances i think Blown Away is a very good 90's Action-packed Thriller & little known underrated film too.