Basic Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson Directed by John McTiernan Rated R for violence and language *** out of **** Stars, Movie Grade: B

Theatrical Release: March 28, 2003
Running time: 98 minutes

by Kevin Lang

With as many plot twists as "Basic" had, it was hard for me to develop an opinion of this movie until the very end. After the final plot twist, however, I was in fact pleased with the resolution, one that I had not seen coming.

John Travolta played Tom Hardy, an ex-army Ranger who was called in to interrogate a soldier about a training mission that had resulted in the apparent deaths of several other soldiers, including their stern commander, Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson). Lt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielson) aided Tom Hardy in the interrogation as they both tried to make sense of the events of the mission. They questioned two soldiers, one played by Brian Van Holt ("Black Hawk Down" 2001) and the other by Giovanni Ribisi, who gave a unique performance in his role as the injured soldier Kendall.

To go further into the story would be to give away the plot twists that kept the film anything but basic. Granted, there were a lot of twists, but it was the last one that left the most impression. It helped me to overlook the slight alienation caused by the overabundance of redirection. The twists had been happening so close together that the movie barely gave the audience enough time to realize everything that had unfolded.

John Travolta kept his character of Tom Hardy fresh through the use of humor and a vibrant personality. It was enjoyable to watch his brief onscreen reunion with Samuel L. Jackson, who had previously worked with him in Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" (1994). With "Basic," Travolta may have risen a little bit from his slump, though we'll have to wait and see what he does next.

"Basic" was an almost intelligent military thriller with a few too many twists and turns, but in the end, it twisted and turned in all the right directions.

"Basic" Review written March 28, 2003, CTF.

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