Basic on DVD

There are thrillers and there are thrillers. Some frighten, some thrill, some excite, some merely offer you a good opportunity to munch some popcorn while you turn off your brain.

Basic is one of the latter.

Oh, it isn't a bad movie, but it's kind of a dumb movie. Despite that, however, it's well worth a look at least once. It doesn't really thrill, it doesn't really make you think, and if you do take time to think the movie basically falls apart.

But it's fun!

John Travolta stars as DEA Agent Tom Hardy, who is recruited to investigate the death of an Army drill instructor, Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson who, despite being dead, keeps cropping up in seemingly unlimited flashbacks). West was on a routine military exercise when things got, well, out of hand and he suddenly found himself pushing up daisies. Hardy’s assignment is to interview the survivors and find the truth behind the incident - especially who the murderer is.

But, as is always the case with a good whodunit (and this movie, too), nothing is how it appears. Or not much, anyway. Somebody is lying, not surprisingly, and maybe everyone's telling whoppers - and this makes it a lot harder for Hardy to put two and two together.

The plot takes us through a series of twists and turns until we finally find out what was going on, who's who, and who did what to whom and when. Alas, it doesn't tie things up neatly because there's a distinct shortage of sense in the script, and that's Basic's ultimate downfall.

Oh, it's enjoyable enough, but in an empty-headed kind of way. The story unfolds in too leisurely a manner, the payoff isn’t worth it, and pretty well every twist they throw at you has been so blatantly foreshadowed that there's very little surprise. We'd like to think we're just so brilliant that we were two steps ahead of the filmmakers, but we know better.

Still, John McTiernan’s direction is always worth seeing and the cast turns in good performances. Travolta and Jackson are always watchable, and the supporting cast (which includes Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Daly, Harry Connick Jr. and Connie Nielsen) all turn in fine performances.

McTiernan has made his share of good - and bad - films over the years, but his films always look great even if they don't taste particularly filling. He helmed such flicks as Predator, The Hunt For Red October and Die Hard, and his artist's eye brings whatever believability there is in Basic.

As is typical of DVD's from Columbia Tristar, Basic has been given a very good DVD. Presented in anamorphic widescreen, 16x9 TV compatible, the picture quality is excellent. Despite most of the film being set at night, with constant rain, we can still easily make out most details. It’s a little darker than it should be, but in a darkened home theater this shouldn't be a problem.

The audio is the usual Dolby Digital 5.1 surround and is also very good. Musical score and dialogue are spread evenly across the three main front channels, and during the action pieces, the action and the sound effects surround you very well. The dialogue is occasionally too quiet to make out easily, unfortunately, and since you don't want to miss anything that's said this can cause some problems.

For extras, you get John McTiernan providing a running commentary for the film, giving insight about the casting, the script, the locations, and words about his visual style. He isn't the most scintillating raconteur, but the information is good and that helps make the commentary worthwhile.

You also get two featurettes: “Basic: A Director’s Design” and “Basic: A Writer’s Perspective.” The former includes cast interviews, as well as words from the director and writer, and there's some info about the filmmaking process. The latter featurette is "basically" an interview with screenwriter James Vanderbilt (who must shoulder much of the blame for the film's weaknesses), interspiced with clips from the movie.

Basic, from Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment
99 min. anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1, 16x9 TV compatible), Dolby Digital 5.1 surround
Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Connie Nielsen, Harry Connick Jr., Tim Daly
Written by James Vanderbilt, Directed by John McTiernan

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