BEFORE: Wrapping up the holiday weekend with another John Travolta military film. We had my father-in-law, brother-in-law and future sister-in-law over for some backyard grilling today - I think it's a law, you have to grill outside at least once on the July 4th weekend. Although I won't leave the house on July 4 itself, going out in the backyard on the 5th is fine.
THE PLOT: Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the US military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.
AFTER: According to this film, "Broken Arrow" is a military code for a lost nuclear missile. The best line of the film is a military character saying: "I don't know what's scarier, losing nuclear weapons, or that it happens so often there's actually a term for it."
Travolta plays Major Vic Deakins, a trained stealth-bomber pilot who's been passed over for promotions so many times that he goes off the deep end, and tries to steal two nuclear missiles, and hold them (or a major U.S. city) for ransom from the government. Could it happen? Beats me, I'm no expert.
But this is a John Woo film, which means that there are plenty of spectacular stunts, some of which riff off of recurring images from his films - like that move where someone runs down a corridor with a gun in each hand, getting double the usual number of shots off. Or two people holding guns on each other at close range, in a classic "Mexican Standoff" pose...
But then we have stunts that are just too spectacular, and ridiculous, to be believed. Like someone taking down a helicopter with a handgun? Possible, but very very unlikely. Or setting off grenades while deep inside a copper mine - yeah, that's probably not recommended. And what about escaping said mine by following the current of an underground river? That could easily head down into the bowels of the earth - now me, I'd follow that river upstream, since if you're underground already, you'd probably want to go higher and get back above ground. Again, I'm no expert.
But why, oh why, would a person holding a gun put that gun down, and give up their tactical advantage, just because he's challenged to a fist-fight? Personal pride? You have him in your sights, dummy, just shoot him!
There are a ton of other plotholes and continuity errors, most of which I'm willing to overlook - since this is a movie, and movies are supposed to (mainly) entertain, when all is said and done. And this was entertaining, for the most part. The action-movie genre isn't usually my first choice, but I've been managing.
And at least Travolta showed a little depth here - as a military man who's gone a little crackers and power-crazy, a villain who thinks he's a hero is acceptably interesting.
The whole movie is set in the Utah desert, and I have to say that the unbearable heat here in NYC today really added to the atmosphere. I'd write more, but I have to be up in just a couple hours - back to work, the holiday weekend is over...
Also starring Christian Slater (last seen in "Young Guns II"), Delroy Lindo (last seen...er, heard in "Up"), Howie Long, Samantha Mathis, Frank Whaley (last seen in "World Trade Center"), and character actors Bob Gunton (last seen in "Fracture", but most famous as the warden in "Shawshank Redemption"), Kurtwood Smith (Red from "That 70's Show"), and Daniel Von Bargen (what did I say - last night he was a sheriff, tonight he's a general...)
RATING: 6 out of 10 parachutes
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