Film Review: Basic (2003)
The last film in the career of a great director is, more often than not, a disappointment. John McTiernan, author of 1980s action film classics like Predator and Die Hard, is not exception to this rule. His 2003 military thriller Basic, while not the worst piece of his filmography, wasn’t exactly something to write home about.
The plot is set in November 1999, shortly before US military facilities at Panama Canal are formally transferred to Panamian control. That doesn’t stip US Army to conduct its regular activities, including small elite unit of Rangers, drilled by Master Sergeant Nathan West (played by Samuel L. Jackson) having an exercise in jungle. The exercise goes very wrong with only two of its members – Sergeant Ray Dunbar (played by Brian Van Holt) and Second Lieutenant Levi Kendall (played by Giovanni Ribisi) – coming back alive, with the rest presumed dead. Since both men are unable or unwilling to cooperate, Military Police Captain Julia Osborne (played by Connie Nilesen) has difficulty investigating. Colonel Ben Styles (played by Tim Daly), a base commander, asks his old friend Tom Hardy (played by John Travolta), alcoholic DEA agent and former Army Ranger, to come to his aid. It is revealed that West was hated by his men, but they also had some secrets related with possible involvement of US Army personnel in cocaine smuggling.
Basic is much better film than McTiernan’s previous work in remake of Rollerball, but this was hardly a major achievement considering how dreadfully bad 2002 film was. McTiernan shows some of his old skill, reminding some of his admirers of Predator, another film featuring US military in Central American jungles. Basic, however, is less of an action film and more of of an old school thriller based around complicated crime mystery. This is an opportunity for some of fine actors to shine, including John Travolta who was obviously thrilled with the idea to play protagonist, something which was becoming increasingly scarce following series of disappointments following Pulp Fiction, another film where he shared screen time with Samuel L. Jackson. The cast does its job relatively well, but its efforts, like McTiernan’s, can’t overcome inept script by James Vanderbilt. General idea of having Rashomon-like retelling of the same story from the different perspectives with multiple flashbacks with different versions of the same events was promising, but it was ruined by too many red herrings and plot twists that had less and less sense with time. By the end, few among the audience cared much about characters and the mystery being solved. McTiernan, on the other hand, showed that he could, to a degree, bounce back from the abysmal failure of Rollerball, but the real life issues related to that unfortunate production led to wiretaping scandal and incarceration that would, for all practical purposes, end McTiernan’s career. It is a pity, because such giant of action cinema deserved much better swan song than Basic.
RATING: 3/10 (+)
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