Movies
Ranking John McTiernan Films: #7 – “Basic” (2003)
It’s nice to see that for a final hurrah, McTiernan stepped up his game and made a movie that is at least interesting
“D.E.A. Agent Tom Hardy investigates the disappearance of legendary Army Ranger Drill Sergeant Nathan West and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry at Fort Clayton.”
Director: John McTiernan
Writer: James Vanderbilt
Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Tim Daly, Giovanni RIbisi, Brian Van Holt, Taye Diggs, Dash Mihok. Cristián de la Fuente, Roselyn Sanchez, Harry Connick Jr.
Release Date: March 28, 2003
IMDB
It’s nice to see that for a final hurrah, McTiernan stepped up his game and made a movie that is at least interesting. Basic is the final movie of McTiernan’s tumultuous career, and much like the director’s life, the movie has plenty of twists and is shrouded in darkness. Literally, Basic takes place during a hurricane and it never lets up.
McTiernan doesn’t end his career with a traditional action movie. While there are gunshots plenty, the climatic moments of the film are with words. Interrogation is the main weapon of the game. Hardy, played by John Travolta and Osborne, played by Connie Nielsen unfurl a mystery that involves murder, drugs and messy, untrustworthy confessions.
Basic has many flaws, and much of it comes from the screenplay. Names are tossed around with the hype of kids in a ball pit. Flashbacks showing the same sequence in different variations are a framework that works for a time, but eventually, it all looks like the same painting. The script tosses the audience around like a rag doll, which demands your attention but is also very disorienting.
The interesting tidbit about Basic is that it’s written by James Vanderbilt, the man who wrote my favorite David Fincher Zodiac (2007), and blockbusters like Andrew Garfield’s The Amazing Spider-Man adventures. He has also locked into the Scream franchise and penned two massive Netflix view-grabbers in the Murder Mystery. Basic was early in his writing career, and it’s just crazy to think I’ve seen almost everything he has written.
STANKO RATING: D+
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