Advantages: Brilliantly directed and acted film Disadvantages: Slightly unbelievable towards the end
Director John McTiernan is well known for action films such as The Hunt For Red October (1990) and Die Hard: With A Vengeance (1995). His 2003 film Basic is a thriller with a twist: not so much an action film, although there are moments of action, it being a military-based film.
The Plot
Tom Hardy is a Drugs Enforcement Agent with ties to the military from his days as an Army Ranger. When he gets a call from an old friend, asking for help solving the disappearance of a special forces instructor, Sergeant Nathan West, and various members of his squad. Hardy soon realises that all is not as it seems, as he has a minimum of resources and witnesses, and it will take all of his experience to extract the information from marines hiding secrets! Set in Panama, Hardy has to battle against the conditions as well as some underhand goings ...
pmcds 24.03.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Basic (DVD)
Advantages: Good storyline, good idea Disadvantages: little action
I quite fancied seeing this film when it was released in the cinema but for one reason or another I missed it and had to wait for the DVD to be released. When the DVD came available for rent I eagerly rented it and settled in for a nights entertainment. I wasn?t disappointed, although I was entertained in quite the same way as I was expecting.
** Background **
Basic was written by James Vanderbilt and is directed by John Tiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt For Red October). It is based in Fort Clayton on the edge of the Panama Canal but was filmed in Jacksonville in Florida. Master Sgt Charles Fails (G.I. Jane) was the technical advisor on the set and added the realism.
** Story Outline **
Tom Hardy is a DEA agent who is currently suspended for an alleged bribe he took. Before joining the DEA he was a Ranger and still has a few ...
jonesri 18.11.2004
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Basic (DVD)
Advantages: The men will like Sharon Stone Disadvantages: Terrible storyline, terrible acting
Best selling crime/erotica author Catherine Trammel (Sharon Stone), originally from San Francisco but now living in London is interrogated by the police after a tragic accident leaves her car in the bottom of the sea with her male passenger dead. Trammel wants to prove her innocence but as a previous murder suspect this isn?t going to be easy.
She is forced to be evaluated by experienced psychiatrist Dr Michael Glass (David Morrissey) however it?s clear right from the start that he?s not going to have an easy task on his hands. With Trammels blatant sex appeal and manipulative ways it?s not long before he finds himself enamoured by her however when people start to die around them Trammel is once again the prime suspect but what does she really want with Michael?
This is the follow up to cult classic Basic Instinct released way ...
