Broken Arrow
Hong Kong director John Woo's second U.S. film (his first was Hard Target) delivers a number of exciting action sequences but is let down by a credibility-straining plot. John Travolta plays Vic Deakins, an Air Force pilot on what is supposed to be a routine night flight mission with his co-pilot, the younger Riley Hale (Christian Slater), whom Deakins constantly kids for lacking the "will to win." Deakins is actually a traitor who crashlands their Stealth Bomber in Death Valley so that he can steal two nuclear warheads onboard and sell them to terrorists who plan to blackmail the government. Deakins meets up with his cohorts, who have been waiting in the park, while Hale survives and teams up with a young, attractive park ranger (Samantha Mathis) to foil Deakins's plans. Plenty of action ensues, with car chases, collapsing mine shafts, fights on burning trains, and even the underground detonation of a nuclear device. Despite the script's implausibilities and inconsistencies, Woo amply displays the expertise with action sequences and man-to-man conflict that has made his Hong Kong films cult favorites. more..
Director: John Woo
Starring: John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, Delroy Lindo, Howie Long
Broken Arrow delivers the hippest action fun around. Travolta's "Dr. Strangelove" exit will blow you away. Ditto the movie.
There are lapses in character motivation, and at times the film takes on a cartoony feeling. But if you worry about those things, you shouldn't be watching action movies. For its genre, Broken Arrow is a class act.
Woo has turned out a slick piece of business, filled with explosions and assorted acts of violence brought off with considerable movie-making skill.
Mr. Woo orchestrates his giddy, daring stunts on a newly spectacular level. There's plenty of physical audacity on screen.
Joy has been replaced by a sense of laboriousness, even though the action sequences move along energetically enough and the movie does have moments of comic-book charm.
Hans Zimmer
BMI Film & TV Awards (1996)
Best Action Sequence
MTV Movie Awards (1996)
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