Broken Arrow (1996)

Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the US military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.

Director:

John Woo

Writer:

Graham Yost

Stars:

John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis

1 win & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
John Travolta	...	Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins
Christian Slater	...	Capt. Riley Hale
Samantha Mathis	...	Terry Carmichael
Delroy Lindo	...	Colonel Max Wilkins
Bob Gunton	...	Pritchett
Frank Whaley	...	Giles Prentice
Howie Long	...	Kelly
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Chief Sam Rhodes
Jack Thompson	...	Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff
Vyto Ruginis	...	Johnson
Ousaun Elam	...	Lt. Thomas
Shaun Toub	...	Max
Casey Biggs	...	Novacek
Jeffrey J. Stephen	...	Shepherd
Joey Box	...	Frakes

Storyline

"Broken Arrow" is the term used to describe a nuclear device that has been lost. In this movie, two nuclear missiles are stolen by rogue US pilot Deakins, but hot on his trail is his co-pilot Hale and a Park Ranger, Terry. The action takes place in Utah's canyon country; a high stakes game of cat and mouse.

---

Plot Keywords:

park ranger | desert | utah | train | stealth bomber | 

---

Taglines:

Prepare to Go Ballistic

---

Genres:

Action | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong action violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Última Ameaça

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$50,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,650,343 (UK) (19 April 1996)

Gross:

£4,000,503 (UK) (17 May 1996)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, Mark Gordon Productions, WCG Entertainment Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Samantha Mathis plays Terry Carmichael, the love interest of Christian Slater's character Riley Hale. She also played the love interest of Slater's character in the movie Pump Up the Volume. They also voiced characters that were "romantically involved" in the movie FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

---

Goofs

Hale remarks after the nuclear bomb detonates that they are safe because no radiation escaped. In truth, that is false. The detonation of the bomb in the mine produced a visible fireball, which means that the blast was not contained. Even so, the fireball was fairly small and most of the blast was underground, so if there's any radiation yield it wouldn't be enough to cause any effects to the immediate area.

---

Quotes

Giles Prentice: Just for the record, I'm not entirely a civilian. I was actually a lieutenant in the ROTC at Yale.
Riley Hale: Well, good for you, Lieutenant.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mission to Mars (2000)

User Reviews

Bad In A Good Way!

Usually I'm the first person to label this sort of movie. Look at it, you'd think it was bad. It's got the usual assortment of action movie clichés and conventions. The John Woo directed action scenes stretch over the top at times, there's the mentally unstable talkative nemesis and yes even one of those bombs that graces us with a digital readout. All prerequisites for movies of this type and saying all that I'd usually be complaining by now. Yet for one reason I can't. This movie entertained me. It finds a way to come together in a really enjoyably manner and I'm happy with what I got. I can't bad mouth it.

Nothing got in my way of everlasting enjoyment of seeing people die, bombs going off and the baritone guitar instrumental. It just all clicks from the get-go. If your reading this you don't need me to recycle the plot summary. It's of a trivial nature. Good action, decent cast and a fun atmosphere go a long way with Travolta ultimately holding it all together. He plays his role over-the-top and delivers some fantastic lines. It doesn't hurt that him and Slater tango well neither. If Travolta attempted this movie now instead of when he did - it wouldn't work. He's done too many goody-goody roles to come back down to this. Laws of nature will not allow him to make another good movie where he plays a bad guy. Chances are anyone else than Travolta in Broken Arrow and you'd be reading a completely different review right now too. A guilty pleasure if there ever was one.