BASIC (2003)

MORGAN'S RATING

Six soldiers went out. Two came back. What happened to the military's most elite commandos? When a legendary commander Nathan West and several of his men turn up missing, the last thing the government wants is a rouge DEA agent, Tom Hardy, investigating the disappearance. As the investigation unfolds, the agent is placed in direct conflict with the Army's official investigating officer, Julia Osborne, and nothing is as it seems.

John Travolta (Tom Hardy), Connie Nielsen (Julia Osborne), Samuel L. Jackson (Nathan West), Timothy Daly (Pete Wilmer), Giovanni Ribisi (Levi Kendall), Brian Van Holt (Raymond Dunbar), Taye Diggs (Dunbar), Dash Mihok (Mueller), Cristian de la Fuente (Castro), Harry Connick Jr. (Pete Vilmer), Roselyn Sanchez (Nunez), Georgia Hausserman (Pilot), Margaret Travolta (Nurse), Dena Johnston (Nurse),  Nick Loren (Helicopter Pilot), Cliff Fleming (Helicopter Pilot), Steven Maye (CID Officer), Jonathan Rau (G.I. on the Tarmac), Tait Ruppert (Jeep Driver), Timothy S. Wester (Doctor), Chris Byrne (MP), Curtis Ricks (MP), Charles L. Fails (MP).

DECEPTION IS THERE MOST DANGEROUS WEAPON.

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

DIRECTOR: John McTiernan (Rollerball). WRITER: James Vanderbilt. PRODUCERS: Mike Medavoy, Arnie Messer, Arnold Messer, James Vanderbilt and Michael Tadross.  ASSOCIATE PRODUCERS: Anson Downes and Linda Favila. CO-PRODUCERS: Andrew D. Given, Lee Nelson, Louis Phillips and Dror Soref. EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Moritz Borman, Nigel Sinclair, Basil Iwanyk and Jonathan D. Krane.  CO-EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Bradley J. Fischer. ORIGINAL MUSIC: Klaus Badelt and Ramin Djawadi (additional music). DISTRIBUTOR: Sony Pictures Entertainment

QUOTES

West: So pretty. So dead.

West: So pretty. As some of you have heard, there is a hurricane warning tonight. Well, Rangers do not wait on good weather. Rangers do not wait for bright sun shiny days. Oh, no. Rangers are trained to operate in the worst possible conditions, and take those conditions and turns them against their enemies. You each have on rifle, one side arm, and one white phosphorous grenade. This is a live ENE, so please keep those weapons safetied, so you are not to shoot of your nonexistent dicks.

FACTS

CRITICAL COMMENTS

RELEASE DATE: March 28th, 2003 (USA) DVD RELEASE DATE: July 8th, 2003 (USA) BOX OFFICE OPENING: $11.5 million (USA) BOX OFFICE RESULT: $26.5 million (USA) PRODUCTION DATES: November 2001  -- April 2002

"Things are not what they seem, because we're kind of making this up as we go along, without any semblance of logic or reason, in order to make you feel stupid." -- Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

"When you get to the last Basic twist, I doubt you'll feel the movie played very fair with you, or that the situation makes much sense." -- Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

"Nothing is as it appears, except the fact that nothing is as it appears." -- Ed Park, Village Voice

"Basic had a great sense of itself and it had a lot of fun taking us from one corner to the next and then spinning us around until we got dizzy and didn't know where we were. I like that." -- Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper

"It's neither deep and interesting enough to be a brainteaser nor sufficiently thrilling to count as a mindless diversion." -- Janice Page, Boston Globe

"So unashamedly confusing, so intent on piling twist upon twist upon twist upon twist, it makes your head hurt just trying to figure out what's happened." -- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times