Blown Away (1994)

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

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers:

John Rice (story), Joe Batteer (story)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Suzy Amis

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Dove
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Gaerity
Suzy Amis	...	Kate
Lloyd Bridges	...	Max
Forest Whitaker	...	Franklin
Stephi Lineburg	...	Lizzy
John Finn	...	Captain 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
Tricia Heine	...	Connie (as Patricia A. Heine)
Josh McLaglen	...	Prison Guard

Storyline

Jimmy Dove works for the bomb squad in Boston and he is always the one who is on the tough jobs. One day he decides to quit the force and to become a teacher for the rookies of the squad. A few days later his former partner is killed by a bomb and Jimmy becomes suspicious that maybe this bomb could have been built by a former friend of himself. He begins to investigate and finds out that his worst nightmare has returned from his past.

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Plot Keywords:

bomb | irish | prison | ireland | mit | 

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Taglines:

Boom baby. Sweet dreams.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

MGM [United States]

Country:

USA

Language:

English Irish

Release Date:

1 July 1994 (USA)

Also Known As:

Explosiv

Filming Locations:

Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$10,424,873, 3 July 1994, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$30,155,037

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM),Trilogy Entertainment Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby SR DTS-Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stephen Rea refused a major role in this project.

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Goofs

When Forest Whitaker's character Anthony Franklin is jogging outside, he runs up a flight of stairs and stops right in front of the camera. The piece of tape marking the spot at which he is supposed to stop is clearly visible.

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Quotes

James 'Jimmy' Dove: [to Franklin] You ain't brave, asshole. You're dumb!

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Crazy Credits

This film is dedicated to the memory of Officer Jeremiah J. Hurley of the Boston Bomb Squad, and to the more than Three Thousand Certified Bomb Technicians throughout the world who risk their lives for our safety every day.

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Alternate Versions

In addition to your normal dialogue and language cuts, the TV version also edits the computer sequence so that the display does not cycle text on part of the monitor, whereas in the original version, there is text in that section, including a b-word used in a context that network TV likely would not have tolerated. Some parts of this sequence are also cropped so that just the typing is visible.

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Connections

References Mad Max (1979)

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Soundtracks

The Minstrel Boy
(uncredited)
Traditional Irish air
Lyrics by Thomas Moore (1779-1852)
Sung by patrons at the Irish pub

User Reviews

Great plot, great acting, very realistic

Being a member of a Canadian bomb squad, I found this movie to be extremely realistic in their methods of fighting bombs. I found the acting to be great, Jeff Bridges did a great job, he really put everything he had into this.

This movie is really intense, and I've found myself in similar situations which just kept me gripped to my seat when I saw it in theaters and many times again on DVD. The only movie I could try and compare it to would be Speed with Keanu Reeves. I'd give the slight lead to Blown Away however, for better acting and storyline. Another comparison would be Arlington Road, same type of story and Jeff Bridges.

Explosions in this movie look real and are real, not computer animated. They look so real you can almost feel the heat on your face :) A definite must see if you like Action-Thriller genre movies