I quite fancied seeing this film when it was released in the cinema but for one reason or another I missed it and had to wait for the DVD to be released. When the DVD came available for rent I eagerly rented it and settled in for a nights entertainment. I wasn’t disappointed, although I was entertained in quite the same way as I was expecting.

** Background **

Basic was written by James Vanderbilt and is directed by John Tiernan (Die Hard, The Hunt For Red October). It is based in Fort Clayton on the edge of the Panama Canal but was filmed in Jacksonville in Florida. Master Sgt Charles Fails (G.I. Jane) was the technical advisor on the set and added the realism.

** Story Outline **

Tom Hardy is a DEA agent who is currently suspended for an alleged bribe he took. Before joining the DEA he was a Ranger and still has a few friends still in the military. Hardy has a mixed past in the military but is remembered as being one of the best interrogators.

Sgt Nathan West is a legendary Special Forces based at Fort Clayton. One night while a hurricane rages West takes a squad of six Rangers out on a training mission. The mission should have been a simple find and destroy in some tough conditions using live ammo. The squad were due to be picked up by helicopter later on that night. The Rangers are late checking in and when the helicopter searches the area to look for the squad the pilots find them in a firefight with each other. Only two of the original party make it out of the jungle and back to base and one of them is wounded. The question is what happened in the jungle to make the team turn on each other?

Lt Osborne is the investigator on the base and begins the process of interrogating the two survivors, Dunbar and Kendal. Col. Bill Styles is desperate to get this mess resolved before the federal agents arrive to take the two survivors away. When Dunbar decides that he will only talk to another Ranger, Styles is forced to go out on a limb to get to the bottom of the mystery. Remembering that Hardy is in the area he asks him to come in and see what he can find out.

Hardy and Osborne must work together to interrogate the two men and get to the bottom of what really happened out there. Things are never as simple as they seem though.

** Main Characters **

Tom Hardy – played by John Travolta (Pulp Fiction) is a Drug Enforcement Agent. Hardy was a Ranger and has a dark and mysterious past. He is called into the mess as a favour to Styles, who is a friend from his time in the military. Hardy considers himself to be something of a hard man and will need to hold his own to get to the bottom of the story.

Sgt. Nathan West – played by Samual L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) is a Special Forces instructor. West has become something of a legend for his hard line training techniques over the years. He is also considered to be the best instructor getting the best out of his men.

Lt. Julia Osborne - played by Connie Nielson (Gladiator) is an internal investigator at Fort Clayton. Osborne is a tough character and is determined to see justice done. She doesn’t like Hardy being involved with the investigation and feels it should be handled internally.

Levi Kendal – played by Giovanni Ribisi (Gone In 60 Seconds) is one of Sgt West’s team that returned from the training exercise. Levi is wounded during the incident and is carried out by Dunbar. Osborne and Hardy have to go to the military hospital to find out his version of events.

Raymond Dunbar – played by Brain Van Holt (Black Hawk Down) is the other member of the party to return from the exercise. Dunbar is the only member of the party to walk away from the exercise.

Col. Bill Styles – played by Tim Daly () is the Colonel on the base. He is under pressure to get to the bottom of what happened in the jungle before the FBI arrive to investigate. Running short on time he decides to call in an old acquaintance that he ran into recently.

** My Opinion **

I can’t really remember what I was expecting before I saw this film but I probably would have expected some sort of action flick. I was far from disappointed when I had finished watching the film but it wasn’t the action scenes that had satisfied me and exceeded my expectations for the film, it was the storyline. The amount of action in the film is actually fairly disappointing. I feel that they could have included a little more action but that is not a criticism of the film more a criticism of my expectations. The film works well without a great deal of action and as I always say “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”.

The film is a thriller and holds the viewers attention by maintaining a degree of suspense and unknown from the viewer. It is unusual for a character in a film to be told a piece of information that is kept from the viewer. In this film Styles talks to Hardy when he first arrives at the base but some of the contents of their discussion is held back from the viewer. This information is revealed at the end of the film and in many ways ties it all together. To have told the viewer this information at the start of the film would have spoilt the suspense and made it much easier to guess the outcome. This is a film that you should watch and follow. It is not something I would recommend watching unless you can give it your complete attention. That is not to say that it is an overly complex film that will require your undivided attention, just that I think to get the best out of this film you need to allow yourself to become involved in it.

I found it quite difficult to write a reasonable description of the storyline for the film without giving anything away. I don’t like putting spoilers into reviews and so it may be that the story is not so appealing as I have described it. What I will say is that overall it is a superb film. The storyline is gripping and evolves at a good pace throughout the film. The ending is fitting to the film and left me, as a viewer, feeling quite satisfied that everything had been tied up neatly. The suspense is maintained throughout the film and all is revealed in a great way to the viewer.

John Travolta has taken some dodgy roles during his acting career but I think this part is one that was almost written for him. It is a part he plays well and something I would like to see more of from him. It is a good performance from Travolta who brings the grit and aggression needed to the role.

Connie Neilson does fantastically well as Travolta’s co-star. She too brings grit and aggression needed to the role and plays her part brilliantly well, enhancing her reputation as an actress. I didn’t know a lot about Connie Neilson until fairly recently but she has put in some fantastic performances in recent years and this is one of them.

Samuel L. Jackson has a relatively small part to play in the film. His character is central to the story but Jackson himself is not necessarily involved. I am a big fan of Jackson and would have liked to have seen more of him in this film. He is well cast in his role and performs well in what he is required to do.

The character development throughout the film is superb and it needs to be as it is integral to the success of the story. The more the viewer learns about the characters the more the story unravels and the clearer everything becomes. Or does it. You’ll have to watch to find out. The character development is good though, particularly with Travolta’s character that arrives in the film with something of a dark and mysterious past.

** Last Word **

I recommend this film to anyone who hasn’t seen it. I enjoyed it and I think most people will too. I found the story gripping, involving and clever. Since first seeing this film I have seen it numerous times since and continue to enjoy it. It is certainly not a film where you lose the enjoyment of watching it once you know the ending which can often be the case with suspense based films.

** More Information **

If you have liked the sound of what you have read so far but are still a little unsure why not check out the official film website at http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/basic/.

Thanks for reading.