Blown Away (1994)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers (WGA):

John Rice (story) &
Joe Batteer (story) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The fuse has been lit...

Plot:

An Irish bomber escapes from prison and targets a member of the Boston bomb squad.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Irish | Ireland | Revenge | Ship

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	James 'Jimmy' Dove / Liam McGivney
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ryan Gaerity
Suzy Amis	...	Kate Dove
Lloyd Bridges	...	Max O'Bannon
Forest Whitaker	...	Anthony Franklin
Stephi Lineburg	...	Lizzy
John Finn	...	Capt. Fred Roarke
Caitlin Clarke	...	Rita
Christofer de Oni	...	Cortez (as Chris de Oni)
Loyd Catlett	...	Bama
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Blanket
Lucinda Weist	...	Nancy
Brendan Burns	...	Kevin
Patricia A. Heine	...	Connie
Josh McLaglen	...	Prison Guard

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Just before the scene where Jimmy claims to have contacted Interpol, a newspaper is shown with the headline "Dichotomy evident as NOW meets in Boston". This appeared in 2 July 1993 Boston Globe.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Gaerity orders Guinness in the Irish bar, what he is served is more like lager (totally wrong color and consistency) yet this doesn't seem to faze him.

Quotes:

Kate Dove: [helping Lizzie turn on the stove] Which hand do you pledge allegiance with?

Movie Connections:

Edited into Agent Red (2000)

Soundtrack:

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Deserved better than it got.

"Blown Away" obviously suffered in comparison to "Speed" since both films were released the same year during the same summer. I never really considered this a pure action film more than a suspense thriller. Things aren't blowing up every 10 minutes and the characters are more deep and interesting here than in a lot of your mindless action romps. I found Jeff Bridges desire to resume a normal life in Boston after his questionable "IRA-like" activities back home in Ireland appealing and his lovely fiancee played by Suzy Amis very likeable. Tommy Lee Jones has a great Irish accent and the lunatic he plays is great fun to watch. Lloyd Bridges as Jeff's uncle and Boston cop Forest Whittaker are equally appealing. My home-town newspaper, "The Dayton Daily News" gave the film 3 stars. I'd say that's about right.

No sequels please!