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Broken Arrow Stars: Christian Slater, John Travolta and Samantha Mathis Director: John Woo BBFC Certificate: 15 Opened: Easter 1995 |
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Following the travesty of his American debut that was Hard Target, John Woo's latest foray into Hollywood's favorite genre is an altogether more successful and satisfying affair. With a 60 million dollar budget, two A-list stars, and an action-packed screenplay from Speed's Graham Yost, it would have taken a stupendously inept director to produce a dull film. In the hands of Woo, the man behind the camera on such stylish Honk Kong bullet ballets as Hard Boiled and The Killer, this has become one of the most thrilling action films of the nineties.
Vic Deakins (Travolta) and the ridiculously named Riley Hale (Slater) are co-pilots for the US government. Seen sparring in a superbly shot boxing match in the opening scene, the pair are called upon to pilot the top-secret V3 bomber in a training mission, during which Travolta dumps the plane's nukes, ejects his co-pilot, and downs the plane. The ensuing ninety minutes sees Slater, aided by park-ranger Samantha Mathis, chasing Travolta around the Utah desert (and performing all sorts of death-defying stunts in the interests of their own preservation) trying to disarm the missiles with which the American government is being held to ransom. Admittedly, the plot is far from complex (or even entirely plausible), but action film storylines are merely excuses for action. The characters (unlike those of Woo's native actioners) are shallow and clichéd, but they are hardly the focus of the movie. The screenplay is very similar to that of Speed. Travolta replaces Dennis Hopper, Slater is Keanu Reeves, and Sandra Bullock's has been substituted with Mathis. The script is tight and at times funny, but it is only during the action sequences that this becomes something special. When it comes to high octane silliness, action fans have never really had it so good. This is not a tense `action-thriller' a lá Speed, but a full blown orgy of fights, chases, explosions, wise-cracks, inventive set-pieces and helicopter crashes, not forgetting the stunning train-based finalé, and the detonation of the odd nuclear device. John Woo has successfully injected a tongue-in-cheek atmosphere to go along side his trade mark slow-motion action sequences and double-fisted gunplay that put Peckinpah in the shade. A wonderful exercise in Hollywood stupidity, this is the genre at its best, and far better than most other action films of the past few years. Whilst it is unlikely to interest action-loathers, let alone convert them, it is a wonderful Friday night pre-pub film which will thrill and entertain for its running time, and provide enough conversation for the walk from the flea-pit to your local. Fantastic. Reviewed by: Tom Whitaker
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