Matrixiole
Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.
Kirandeep Yoder
The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.
Rosie Searle
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
adonis98-743-186503
A DEA agent investigates the disappearance of a legendary Army ranger drill sergeant and several of his cadets during a training exercise gone severely awry. Basic has an amazing cast and an amazing director who has directed some classics such as Die Hard and Predator but also some underrated ones too like Die Hard With A Vengeance and Last Action Hero. First of all i got bored out of my mind with the flashbacks, half of the movie is dark and it's raining and the story alongside the characters are terribly written and in the end it was a big disappointment for me. (0/10)
nadinesalakovv
I just finished streaming this flick for the first time on the free section of Amazon Prime Video and i was bored throughout, i continued to stick with it until the very end because as a film critic at heart as well as an unpaid critic i will always give a film a chance after i hit the "watch now" button unless it becomes unwatchable, this movie is not that, but it is everything else bad, it is slow-paced, the acting is fine - but that isn't the problem, the problem is the overall plot! for a thriller it is not thrilling, it is not suspenseful even though they desperately try and make it that way.
I'll give this film a 2 rating instead of 1 because the plot-twist is actually clever and unexpected, but overall this movie is just not very good.
TheLittleSongbird
John McTiernan showed that he had a lot of talent for directing in his early career. 'Die Hard' to this day is one of the landmarks of the action genre as well as being a wonderful film in general, and 'Predator' and 'The Hunt for Red October' are also great. 'Die Hard with a Vengeance' is very enjoyable. Sadly, the 2000s in particular saw his career do a 180, with 2002's dreadful 'Rollerball' making one shocked that it actually came from him.'Basic', from 2003, turned out to be McTiernan's most recent film before his personal life and legal troubles got in the way. It is certainly much better than 'Rollerball', then again almost anything is and it is difficult not to make anything better. However, there is still that disappointing sense that such a promising career start declined as drastically as McTiernan's. Is 'Basic' a terrible film and as bad as critics have said? Not quite. Could it have been much better? Yes. It suffers from the opposite problem of 'Rollerball', that film had the feeling of not that much effort was put into it whereas 'Basic' suffers from trying too hard.There are good things. 'Basic' actually starts off well, there was a little tension and has enough to make one intrigued in wanting to continue. It is a slick looking film, despite scenes being darkly lit even for a film where there are a lot of night-time scenes, giving a genuinely moody and gritty thriller look.Klaus Badelt provides an atmospheric music score. John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen and Tim Daly make the most of what they have and actually do quite well, Travolta in particular seems to be having a good time while not overdoing it.However, McTiernan seems out of sorts and lost here, and he shouldn't have been because 'Basic' is not a change of pace film like 'Medicine Man' was. He should have been the perfect person to direct considering the genre, but clearly bit off far more than he could actually chew, he struggles to make the film compelling and loses control. The script is sluggish and over-stuffed, with many awkward moments, suffering too from trying to do far too much.Despite starting off well, 'Basic' derails quickly and gets increasingly tedious and convoluted to the point of incoherence. The final act in particular almost single-handedly wrecks the film, it tries to take on far too many twists and pretty much every single one of them attempted is confusing and ridiculous and then it ends on such an incomplete-feeling note. Taking away the twists, the story actually is pretty basic and thin, giving the sense that the piling on of the twists was trying to disguise that the story was very bare bones underneath. There is no reason given to allow anybody to care for the shallow characters or the severely flawed story, while Harry Connick Jr feels out of place and Giovanni Ribisi is in parody mode that one can't take him seriously.Overall, not a waste of time but could have been much better because the potential was there. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Python Hyena
Basic (2003): Dir: John McTiernan / Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Taye Diggs, Giovanni Ribisi: Thriller about truth that constantly jerks viewers around. Mirrors the superior Courage Under Fire where characters are questioned with regards to the death of another. Plot regards the death of numerous army recruits including their ruthless commander played by Samuel L. Jackson. John Travolta is called upon to question a witness who may be guilty of murder and he is assisted by the Army's official investigating officer played by Connie Nielsen. A battle of the sexes follows before they respect each other but the plot is reduced to mindless clichés, repetitious storytelling and a cheat ending. Skilled directing by John McTiernan who has made better films such as The Hunt for Red October and Die Hard. Too juvenile for Travolta and Jackson is reciting old roles where he yells a lot. Thankfully we can view both actors giving far superior performances in Pulp Fiction, a film I recommend over this one. Nielsen plays an embarrassing ill tempered officer whose job is to debate Travolta and then kiss and make up at the film's convenience. Taye Diggs plays an abused recruit. His career will likely be abused after this film. Giovanni Ribisi plays a Lieutenant but he has done better roles in superior films. Theme gives way to basic idiocy. Score: 2 / 10
