Basic gets so needlessly convoluted in its plot twists that the viewer eventually loses interest. Read critic reviews
Basic
2003, Mystery & thriller/Drama, 1h 38m
143 Reviews 50,000+ RatingsWhat to know
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Movie Info
During a special operations training mission in Panama, four U.S. soldiers are killed mysteriously, and their leader, Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson), goes missing. A military investigator, Capt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielsen), has trouble convincing the two survivors to talk about what happened that night. A more experienced investigator, Tom Hardy (John Travolta), is brought in to crack the case. However, when the survivors do start talking, their stories differ from one another.
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Rating: R (Violence|Language)
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Genre: Mystery & thriller, Drama
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Original Language: English
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Director: John McTiernan
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Producer: Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer, Michael Tadross
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Writer: James Vanderbilt
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Release Date (Theaters): wide
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Release Date (Streaming):
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Box Office (Gross USA): $26.5M
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Runtime:
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Distributor: Columbia Pictures
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Sound Mix: Dolby SR, DTS, Dolby Stereo, Surround, SDDS, Dolby A, Dolby Digital
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Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)
Cast & Crew
News & Interviews for Basic
Critic Reviews for Basic
Audience Reviews for Basic
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The screenplay starts off alright, promising a "Rashomon" type narrative, but it delivers a series of outrageous twists instead.
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Basic is a suspense thriller from director John McTiernan that's overly complicated and takes a few too many turns. The story follows an investigation into a training accident in which 4 officers have gone missing and are presumed dead. John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Giovanni Ribisi lead the cast and deliver some really good performances. And the story is well told, and effectively builds the suspense and mystery...until the last act. It tries to be a bit too clever and it ends up backfiring. Plot failings aside, Basic still manages to deliver and intense and suspense drama with a captivating mystery.
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Relying heavily on John Travolta's skills in front of the camera, Basic is held down mostly by its debilitating sets (basically just an office and a hospital bed) while completely keeping the audience in the dark with contradicting stories of what actually happened during the routine training gone bad, until, at one point, nothing makes much sense. Saved by an unforgettable twist ending, however, Basic is still able to reach a level of mediocrity worthy of at least being called an average thriller.
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the film is just a mess of ideas but if you can get past this you'll realise there is much more underneath the surface. twist after twist finally leads to an odd finale
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