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:

vomiting | bomb | irish | prison | ireland | 

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Taglines:

The fuse has been lit...

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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

Jeff Bridges worked with Arnold Schwarzenegger on Stay Hungry (1976), and was considered for his role in Total Recall (1990) as Douglas Quaid. Schwarzenegger and Tommy Lee Jones have played Batman villains in Joel Schumacher's versions. Jones played Two-Face in Batman Forever (1995), and Schwarzenegger played Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin (1997). All three of the guys are also friends with Clint Eastwood.

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Goofs

The reflection of the camera crew is visible on Gaerity's sunglasses as he talks to Lizzy on the beach.

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Quotes

Anthony Franklin: [to Jimmy] Don't you ever get tired of bein' a hero?

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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

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Jeff Bridges/Eminem and Lil Wayne (2010)

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Soundtracks

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Written by U2 (Bono (as Paul Hewson), The Edge (as Dave Evans), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. (as Larry Mullen))
Performed by U2
Courtesy of Island Records Ltd.

User Reviews

Boom, boom, boom

Tommy Lee Jones wants Jeff Bridges and anybody he knows "Blown Away" in this 1994 film, also starring Suzy Amis, Forest Whitaker and Lloyd Bridges. Bridges, caught up in the Irish trying to get the English out of Ireland, worked with Jones in Ireland, but when one of the bombings goes bad, he splits, and Jones gets arrested. Jones escapes from an Irish prison and traces Bridges to Boston, where he plans on getting revenge on Bridges, his family, and the entire Boston Police Bomb Squad.

This movie really needed to be seen on the big screen because of all of the special effects - huge, frequent explosions.

The accents are all over the place, but the performances are good, with Lloyd Bridges on hand as a bearded character actor. It was a little too stereotypical for this viewer.

The script is by the numbers and derivative, but the actors and the tension engendered from defusing bombs attached to people helps hold interest.

Okay, but see it on a large flat-screen TV.