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Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow

List Price: $14.98
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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: a great action film!
Review: John Travolta, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis all give standout performances in this flick about a military officer (Travolta) turning against his men (which includes Slater) and stealing two nuclear warheads for himself. They do this in the middle of a large desert land out West, and so a park ranger (Mathis) becomes inextricably involved as she teams up with Slater to get the warheads back.

some great lines in the movie:

"When this happens, we call it a "Broken Arrow"."

"I don't know what scares me more -- that someone has these nukes or that it happens so often you have a name for it."

Mathis (after Slater fashions a firebomb and pitches it at his enemies' car): "Did you learn that in the military?"

Slater: "No, New Jersey. Trenton, New Jersey."

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: John Woo directs a ok action film
Review: yeah, it has its ups and downs but this one is cool. Travolta goes crazy and wants to have warheads so he can blowup stuff and Slater and Samantha Mathis(yum) have to try and stop him and Howie Long from doing so. lots of explosions and gun fire. the best scene would have to be the end where Travolta gets flung out the back but a warhead, awesome action set piece

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: More Holes Than A Truckload Of Old Socks
Review: Imagine a nuclear apocalypse movie from hardcore Asian director John Woo, written by the guy who wrote Speed and Hard Rain/creator of TV's Boomtown and starring John Travolta as the villain. Does it sound good? It might have looked good on paper but as a film it's a complete and utter disaster.

The problem is the uninspired story is full of zillions of holes, Travolta's campy performance, Woo's direction is almost entirely muted (it's practically a generic action film) and slow, plodding story. It's supposed to be fast paced, going from one climax/hair's breadth escape to the other, but it's padded out with dozens of 'helicopters just flying around' scenes.

And what is the point in a muted John Woo movie? Even in the highly censored (and still superior Hard Target) his style was still prominent and in your face. It leads me to believe that maybe Broken Arrow has had some violence and action taken out. But from the looks of the film all that is missing is story.

Broken Arrow is worse than brainless. There are so many errors and mistakes in the plot that you'll be hard pushed to find a more illogical and nonsensical movie (Ballistic: Ecks vs Sever not included).

Plus, like in Woo's Face Off, Travolta seems to be under the impression that no matter what he does it's automatically cool and hip. He doesn't even try to get into the character of Vic Deakins or bring him to life or give him a new dimension. I mean Deakins is, without a doubt, a weirdo who has seriously lost his mind. If some other actor had gotten this role (Johnny Depp, or even John Lithgow would have been a far better choice) then the movie would have risen a little. Sadly tho, we just don't click with Deakins or feel sorry for him or even side with him. This particular villain could have provoked so much out of us, especially with Woo's trademark melodrama, but Travolta just goes campy all the way. Not cool!

Christian Slater is simply okay as the hero and the gorgeous Samantha Mathis doesn't have much to do other than stand around looking distressed and pretty. They make for a cute couple tho, especially if you liked them in Pump Up The Volume.

And how many helicopters did they blow up in this film? It seems as if a helicopter blows up every five minutes. It really becomes so dull and repetitive. Boom! An explosion! Wow? The A-Team did better explosions than this. What so interesting about the zillionth ball of flame rising into the air?

The only cool thing about the movie is what saves it from a 1-star review; Hans Zimmer's awesome, highly exciting and atmospheric score. The score carries the movie. Without it Broken Arrow would be no more than Broken Movie. If you want a countryside based/railroad/ nuclear actioner then check out Under Siege 2. with the exception of Seagal's acting, it's vastly superior to this on all levels.

The DVD isn't even anamorphic so if you have widescreen TV then the Region 2 DVD is the way to go. The Dolby 5.1 sound is great but a DTS track would have been better. The menu screens have a 'Special Features' option but it only contains a trailer (and not even the good trailer). So much for the featureS!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: John Woo's debut effort leaves us wanting for more...
Review: This is John Woo's debut effort in the US. The film showcases the talents of John Travolta and Christian Slater for action movies as never. John Woo has the knack of making actors looks so good and compelling in his action movies. For a more accomplished effort and larger doses of John Woo-ish action, check out Face/0ff.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: One of the worst movies ever made
Review: This is definatly a waste of money and time. The only thing worse than the acting is the writting. Rather than make a good action movie with decent writting, John Woo tryings to impress people with numerous explosions. At least 4 helicopters explode when the would not have in reality; one is shot down with a handgun, another starts leaking fuel for no reason (which is imediatly ignited by another gun), etc. I would not recomend this to anyone, under any circumstances. This is bad, even for a John Travolta flim.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: Please, take my advice, never ever rent this video
Review: this is the dumbest movie ever made. If you liked it, my apologies, but I would pay not to watch it. This is some of the worst acting I have seen, and the worst script. It looks like it was a home video or something. View at your own risk.

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Hit and miss
Review: There is no doubt about Woo's ability to create searing over the top action, and he provides plenty of it in Broken Arrow but at times it comes off as extremely campy. I know, I know; it's just an action film, but I like to come out of an action movie thinking that I just watched something, no matter how unrealistic or unfeasible, with a plausible foundation. I in no way can see a rogue money hungry jet-fighter stealing nukes in real life.

The stunts were teriffic and special effects were stunning, but this is where I felt the movie went over the top. Travolta's performance is so campy and cartoonish that it's like he's straight out of an Archie comic book. He doesn't "sell" me on any part of his character (most of this is the fault of the writers). I don't think a single stunt he pulls off is something I could see Travolta doing, which really hurt my enjoyment of the film. Bad lines, delivered by a decent actor, in a bad role = sub-par performance no matter what way you slice it.

The DVD lacks punch on extras and in my opinion is of average sound and picture quality. If you buy action flicks for the audio features look for, or wait for a DTS version.

If you are looking for a decent action DVD I'd steer you towards Blade, Matrix or U-571.

Rating: 1 stars
Summary: probably the worst film ever
Review: where to start, well to get the good points out of the way first, john travolta does seem to have a knowing way of acting through really really bad scripts, i guess hes had ample experience.
Slater as usual is poor, at least hes not quite so much into his Jack Nicolson impression this time round, but as hero material he just doesnt cut it.
The script is appaling, this must be the most cliche ridden non-movie of all time. the demads made on the audiences stupidity reach new bounds.
this is the definiation of a star vehicle as there is nothing else, i would find an episode of the a-team more demanding, and certainly better fun.
i cant think of a film ive hated more really.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Ain't It Cool?
Review: The second masterpiece to have been directed by John Woo stars the comeback man, John Travolta and Christian Slater. Travolta steals nuclear warheads and wants money for them or else. It's up to Slater to stop him. Tons of action involving a helicopter chase, shoot-outs in a mine, on a train, yes. I don't know how many helicopters exploded in this movie. At least five. That's a lot! John Travolta plays a pretty good maniac and Slater is a good hero. Don't throw hammers, it'll hurt.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A good action film
Review: After John Woo's move to Hollywood, things got a little bit shaky for a while with this John Travolta/Christian Slater action flick. And while the action is good, the story feels like it was taken from a pile marked "unused Steven Seagal ideas". That said, Travolta is effortlessly cool, slowly making his way back to the top with films like Pulp Fiction after the slump of the 80's. Woo's flair for impressive action and stunts is evident, as Slater is out to try to stop Travolta from detonating a stolen missile (hence the film's title).

We're in familiar territory, but it's a Woo movie, so the action is thankfully better than the average action flick. Samantha Mathis is the love interest for Slater's character, but she's as cardboard as they come, the plot is rather brainless and some unconvincing techno-jargon ruins the film's credibility. But the action saves the film, with the ever-present things exploding and helicopter chases making this one a solid, if not always-realistic action flick.


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