Army Ranger Dunbar (Brian Van Holt) is being interrogated by Captain Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen). The situation is very serious: Dunbar’s team mates from Special Forces trainees and their sergeant Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) are all missing, presumed dead. The only other survivor aside from Dunbar is Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi), and he is lying in a hospital bed, in critical condition. There is a big chance Dunbar is guilty but when he says he will only talk to another ranger like him, Osborne’s supervisor Styles (Tim Daly) decides to call in a favor from his old friend/ex-Ranger Tom Hardy (John Travolta)- despite her objections.
Osborne and Hardy don’t at first get along that well. After all Hardy has left the army, is now a DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) agent. It doesn’t help build her trust that there have been some bribery charges against him and he is sort of suspended.
But when Hardy proves himself as great an interrogator as Styles said he was, Osborne decides to follow his lead. After all, he has gotten both Kendall and Dunbar to talk. The problem is, their stories are contradicting. And even more confusing is the fact that Kendall seems to be showing Dunbar in a guilty light despite the fact that he saved Kendall’s life.
So what is the real story? Did one of the soldiers finally lose it because of how horribly West treated them? Or is it a whole lot more complicated than that?
I loved this movie. In fact, I adored it. I do have a weakness for John Travolta movies- especially thrillers: Do Face Off, Broken Arrow, Swordfish, From Paris with Love, Mad City ring a bell? Yes, there are more but these are my favorites and Basic joined them right away. The difference of Basic, though is that the action doesn’t exactly involve Travolta. We get flashbacks to the awful stormy location where the soldiers were supposed to complete their training. There is great suspense and as many great twists as in a John Grisham novel. I loved how the story surprises and entertains and impresses you at all times. The movie, in my opinion is horribly underrated at 6.3 on IMDB. I think it is a solid 8 but I rated a 9 for the entertainment level and frankly to get the movie closer to the rating it deserves. Written by James Vanderbilt. Directed by John McTiernan.
A very strong drama/thriller with a great cast. Now, that’s my kind of movie .
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