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Basic (2003)

There are thrillers that take great care in the development of their plot and characters, and then there are those that are more interested in showing how supposedly clever they are. Sadly, Basic belongs to the latter of the two categories.

The story is set deep in the Panama jungles. Six rangers under the command of Sgt. West went on a training mission in the midst of a hurricane, but only two returned. Basic follows the exploits of Tom Hardy, an ex-army special forces personnel brought in by the base commander to find out as much information as possible in regards to the events transpired during that period, before Washington is alerted of the situation. As time is running out, he must find a way to gain the cooperation of the survivors, and to sift the truths from the lies.

"Deception is their most dangerous weapon."

Misdirection employed subtly and tastefully can work to great advantage for a movie, such as the ones in The Usual Suspects. Unfortunately, Basic's blatant use of this device is ultimately the reason why the film failed to work. By the time a third version of what took place at the time of the exercise is told, it becomes obvious that this account is just as preposterous as the previous two. Instead of applauding at the cleverness of the plot twists, I often wondered to myself when will they finally get to the point and address some of the loose details previously introduced in the story. There were some interesting angles that could have been explored further, but apparently the movie was more concerned with uncovering a conspiracy that is both ridiculous and unbelievable. The funniest thing about Basic is that for a film that spent a good amount of its running time searching for the so-called truth, the premise of the movie was never adequately resolved, and the payoff at the end is as unsatisfying as it is shallow.

Luckily, the acting in Basic is fairly solid all around. John Travolta returns to fine form playing the resourceful and charismatic Tom Hardy. Demonstrating his versatility in the portrayal of his role, Travolta is sometimes flamboyant, other times humorous, but constantly engaging and a treat to watch. Connie Nielsen is likeable enough as Lt. Julia Osborne, the head of the military police at the base. However, her character lacks depth and seems to function simply as a way to build the sexual tension between the two leads. To be fair, Travolta and Nielsen did have good chemistry together, as well as providing the audiences with a couple of good laughs. Basic also reunites Travolta with co-star Samuel L. Jackson for the first time since their memorable performances in Pulp Fiction. Even though Jackson does a decent job as the hard-nosed Sgt. Nathan West, he was not on screen nearly as much as I would havve liked to see.

Basic is a convoluted movie that has one too many twists for its own good. A poorly scripted plot that made very little sense ruined what could have been an excellent suspense film, something that even as talented a cast as this one couldn't save. Don't go in with a high expectation and you might not walk away disappointed, otherwise, I would recommend you skip Basic altogether.

- Zalasta

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