Arts & Entertainment
 

Too many twists fail in 'Basic' 

By Daniel Huron 
The Daily Cougar

John Travolta and Samuel L. Jacksonis new film Basic falls flat in its attempt to out-Keyser Soze The Usual Suspects.

The twists upon twists on top of other twists that dominate the movieis climax fail to drop any jaws or cause any head scratching. It basically feels cheap.

Gene Page/Columbia Pictures

And thatis a shame -- up to that point Basic was a surprisingly decent little thriller.

Director John McTiernanis (Die Hard, Rollerball) latest is far from the league of The Usual Suspects or even Courage Under Fire, but itis fair to describe the film as a hybrid of the two.

Sgt. Nathan West (Jackson) is an Army drill instructor legendary for his ruthless tactics. He and several of his cadets turn up missing during a training mission in the jungles of Panama.

When Lt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielson of Gladiator) fails to get answers from mission survivor Dunbar (Brian Van Holt), Drug Enforcement Administration agent Tom Hardy (Travolta) is brought in.

He makes progress, but the stories he gets from Dunbar and the only other survivor Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi) donit match up. 

And thatis where the twists start to drown the movie. Was West murdered for his mistreatment of another cadet, Pike (Taye Diggs)? Did he find out about a drug conspiracy?

McTiernan does a good job of keeping the complicated story in order, but when the twists start to pile up, it feels like even he began to lose patience with the screenplay. The last minutes of the film feel sloppy and lazy.

Travolta and Jackson, teaming up for the first time since Pulp Fiction, give the movie a pulse.

The movie belongs to Travolta. This is far from his best work, but it isnit Battlefield Earth either. He has a swagger and confidence on screen, and heis never over the top.

Jackson sheds his cooler-than-thou persona to play a tight-fisted dictator. He dominates his scenes, and it would have been nice for him to have more.

The dialogue of the film is average, but the sound editing of the film is so sloppy that you probably wouldnit notice half of it. Sound effects tend to drown out the actorsi voices.

The photography in Basic is too dark -- not dark as in moody; dark as in "I canit see whatis happening." The look of the film is a mess.

Techical errors aside, the biggest problem with the film is its attitude towards the audience. At the end of Basic, the viewer feels cheated. "What actually happened? Why? Did this ... no wait! That didnit happen!"

But in total, Basic isnit that bad. Itis a good film to waste some time with. 

One question: At this time in our history, were men dressed in army fatigues, handing out posters and pens really necessary to promote the film at the screening?

Basic

Rated: R

Starring: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson

Columbia Pictures

The verdict: Itis a decent film ... or is it?

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