Basic (2003)

Director:

John McTiernan

Writer (WGA):

James Vanderbilt (written by)

Release Date:

28 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Deception is their most dangerous weapon.

Plot:

A DEA agent investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army ranger drill sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry.

Plot Keywords:

Army | Panama | Shot In The Chest | Covert Operation | Racial Slur

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

John Travolta	...	Hardy
Connie Nielsen	...	Osborne
Samuel L. Jackson	...	West
Tim Daly	...	Styles
Giovanni Ribisi	...	Kendall
Brian Van Holt	...	Dunbar
Taye Diggs	...	Pike
Dash Mihok	...	Mueller
Cristián de la Fuente	...	Castro
Roselyn Sanchez	...	Nunez
Harry Connick Jr.	...	Vilmer
Georgia Hausserman	...	Pilot
Margaret Travolta	...	Nurse #1
Dena Johnston	...	Nurse #2
Nick Loren	...	Helicopter Pilot

Also Known As:

Basic - Hinter jeder Lüge eine Wahrheit (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18SG (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba) | Canada:14A (Ontario) (DVD rating) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | France:U | Spain:13 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Mexico:B15 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:M18 (re-rating) | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #39367) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Costa Rica

Company:

Phoenix Pictures

Trivia:

Every time the story of the bunker is retold, each person has a different partner.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: Osborne is driving with Hardy in her Hummer on their way to see Kendall, as she does the dialogue you can tell the Hummer is on a trailer because as she turns the wheel the steering wheel doesn't move

Quotes:

[first lines]
Osbourne: [voiceover] The French tried to build a canal here before the Americans. At the height of their effort, 500 workers were dying every week from malaria and yellow fever. They couldn't come up with cemetery space fast enough, not to mention the morale problem all those crosses would have made...

Movie Connections:

Featured in Basic: A Director's Design (2003) (V)

Soundtrack:

Black Betty

Basically Trash

Don't expect anything less than whiplash from this "thriller" that seems to think it is smarter than we are. Once again, nothing is as it seems, and none of us really care. Evidently the writer doesn't care either because none of the characters remain consistent for the movie, or ten minutes for that matter. John Travolta does his over-the-top action hero again, but it really is just annoying when he cannot take investigating people's deaths seriously. Samuel L. Jackson is pretty much wasted as a sergeant who yells a lot. In fact, I don't remember a line of his that was not yelled. Then, there's Connie Nielsen, a Danish-born actress with a more-than-shaky Southern accent. She gets the most screen time but lacks the charisma to carry the movie, event though I preferred her dullness to the raving antics of Travolta and Jackson. Finally, the movie ends and then ends and then ends, and when you finally think there are no more "twists," the filmmakers squeeze out a few more. If you like movies that are condescending and pointless, then this movie should be BASIC for you.