Six U.S. Army soldiers entered the depths of the Panamanian wilderness in a routine training operation. Only two resurfaced. Past this background framework, "Basic" loses me. It could have been a great movie -- really, it could have.Directed by "Die Hard" director John McTiernan and starring John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, the dynamic duo from "Pulp Fiction," the film's credits are nothing short of promising. Yet, "Basic" falls privy to a convoluted plot that takes around five too many surprise twists, and it is for this reason that the film ultimately flounders.
We first encounter Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) in the opening scene of the film, when he orders a six-man commando to deploy into the jungle during a hurricane.Needless to say, the sergeant is not loved by his fellow men.Rather, he's hated for his unreasonable demands and generally sadistic nature -- both of which eventually land him in the boiling pot.
At some point during the hurricane-laden training op, events run sour.West is killed, and his soldiers are left shooting at each other rather than the preordained targets.
It's Lt. Julia Osborne's (Connie Nielson) job to find out why, but the two lone survivors of the tragedy -- Rangers Dunbar and Kendall -- aren't talking.Enter John Hardy (Travolta), the hardcore DEA agent with a certain predilection for getting inside people's heads.
From this point on, the film spirals through a series of interviews and confessions, with the main purpose apparently lying in confounding the viewing audience.One minute, Dunbar is blamed as the fall guy, the next he's confessing a covert drug operation.Ten minutes later, he's an accomplice in the crime, and later still, he turns into the good guy.Confused yet?You should be. If anything, the film teaches the viewer to distrust anything seen on the screen, as it will ultimately be revoked in light of yet another development in the convoluted crime.
Halfway through the movie, I'd had enough. Rather than sit through another hour of confounding twists and turns, I instead had an itching urge to stand up screaming "WHAT HAPPENED ALREADY?!" By the end of the film, I'd ceased to care. Apparently, I wasn't the only audience member left befuddled, as the woman in front of me turned around to ask me if I'd "gotten it" at the film's conclusion. Insert sigh of relief here, as I wasn't the only theater goer left feeling mentally inadequate.
Ultimately, I must attribute the film's confounding nature to screenwriter James Vanderbilt, who can be held responsible for this head case. How he kept from tripping over his own thoughts while writing this doozy astounds me, but then again, maybe that's the problem. Perhaps the screenwriter, too, was left ultimately confused, resulting in this debauchery.
Perplexing plot aside, "Basic" wasn't a horrible movie.John Travolta gives a stunning performance as interrogation genius, managing to seduce not only Osborne, but the audience as well. The role is an appropriate one for Travolta, who attacks the interrogation room with a decidedly laid-back arrogance. Performing alongside him is Samuel L. Jackson, in their first reunion since Tarentino's masterful "Pulp Fiction."Jackson, like Travolta, performs with domineering confidence, ultimately adding to the film's enjoyment.
If you're looking for a Travolta/Jackson spectacle, however, you've come to the wrong place, for the time that the two actors spend together on screen is minimal. Instead, Travolta's main sidekick is Connie Nielson, who plays both his interrogation buddy and romantic interest.
Nielson might have deserved some degree of credit as well -- had she been given the opportunity to shine.However, Osborne continually is written off as the inadequate woman of the operation, spending the great majority of her time arguing with the seductive Hardy rather than solving the case at hand. Given a distinctly one-dimensional role, she did all that she could.
I'm not telling you to bypass "Basic" on your next trip to the movie theater,; rather, I'm telling you to take two Advil along for the ride.For, while you won't be left with any definitive idea of what happened in the movie, you will be left with a headache.On that note, happy viewing.
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