Critic Reviews
-
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Director John McTiernan does a swell job with James Vanderbilt's sneaky script in keeping us guessing.
-
Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
You can fall asleep in the first reel, wake up at the end, and know as much as anyone else.
-
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
Made up of remnants from other, better films.
-
Ed Park, Village Voice
Nothing is as it appears, except the fact that nothing is as it appears.
-
Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
[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.
-
Peter Howell, Toronto Star
Travolta is a vital presence that constantly holds our attention, even when the script is threatening to lose it.
-
Nell Minow, Common Sense Media
Basically bad and sorry attempt at a thriller.
-
Matt Kelemen, Las Vegas CityLife
McTiernan's bitten off way more than he could chew, spicing up the Usual Suspects approach with a dash of Rashomon and a little of help from A Few Good Men.
-
Greg Maki, Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)
Basic is one of those rare movies without even a single redeeming quality.
-
Daniel M. Kimmel, Worcester Telegram & Gazette
The problem is that we've been given nothing to make us care for any of these people, so when the mysteries unravel there's nothing in the answers that hit us at a gut level.
-
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
A estrutura narrativa (obviamente inspirada em Rashomon) é interessante, mas a necessidade de criar reviravoltas surpreendentes praticamente destrói o filme, já que, ao final da projeção, nada mais faz sentido.
-
Prairie Miller, Long Island Press
Best described as military noir, Basic reunites John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in a kind of Pulp Fiction with rain and fatigues, plus a chaser of Rashomon on the side.
-
Andrew Manning, Radio Free Entertainment
Samuel L. Jackson's performance is the main reason to watch this ultimately disappointing mystery that thrives on audience deception and mass confusion.
-
Ian Waldron-Mantgani, UK Critic
The final parts of this movie are the kind that you'd swear were slapped on by the studio, until you realise the whole story must have been built around them.
-
Jamie Russell, BBC
Fumbling the setup, the Die Hard helmer quickly loses his grip on the material, turning Basic into little more than a mechanical exercise in plotting.
-
Marty Mapes, Movie Habit
I had to take on faith that the plot could, theoretically, be made sense of
-
Oz, eFilmCritic.com
Everyone involved just watched their stock price drop 79%.
-
Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Noisy, dark and headache-inducing, John McTiernan's Basic is one of those brain-twisting legal thrillers that can only be enjoyed by those determined not to worry about things like consistent internal logic
-
Spence D., IGN Movies
Basic is one of those films that thinks itself clever in its use of confusion, when in reality it's just confusing. Sound confusing? Yeah, thought so.
-
Michael Szymanski, Zap2it.com
Nope, nothing subtle here. The whole movie isn't subtle. From the perpetual rain, to the high-anxiety shouting that every character seems to have at some point, to the constant reminder that nothing is as it seems, the movie is continuously doubling back
Read all 24 critic reviews
Featured Audience Ratings
-
"<b>Basic</b> was a good movie with a lot of twists. Everytime I thought I had it figured out it changed on me again. It was surprising right down to the ending credits.
The movie is about the murder of Sgt. Nathan and most of his squad. The suspects are the rest of… More
"<b>Basic</b> was a good movie with a lot of twists. Everytime I thought I had it figured out it changed on me again. It was surprising right down to the ending credits.
The movie is about the murder of Sgt. Nathan and most of his squad. The suspects are the rest of his squad that came back alive. Agent Tom Hardy is called in to investigate the murder with the help of Captain Juila Osborne. They don't really hit it off since Capt. Osborne believes she is more than capable of doing the investigation on her own. The story continues to change as the mystery of what happened to Sgt. West is unraveled.
The film has a pretty decent cast with a great performance from Travolta. I would see this one again."
-
There is no doubt that the script by wonderful James Vanderbilt is just pure genius. Director John McTiernan uses the jungle-setting for a maximum effect. This one has genuinely creepy atmosphere with Samuel L. Jackson giving one of his most strongest performances today. Beware of… More
There is no doubt that the script by wonderful James Vanderbilt is just pure genius. Director John McTiernan uses the jungle-setting for a maximum effect. This one has genuinely creepy atmosphere with Samuel L. Jackson giving one of his most strongest performances today. Beware of that twisty script which definetly will reward a patient viewer. Easily the best film from McTiernan.
-
Full of twists and turns, but none of them particularly exciting, it's almost a film that tries too hard, the filming, I felt was a little too dark, visually speaking. Watchable, but easily forgettable.
-
The movie was alright, but I wish they'd not pulled out the oldest story from the book for the ending. As if this weren't enough, its predictable twist is followed by several unpredictable twists. Now, this might be a positive point for some, but it turned me off. Besides… More
The movie was alright, but I wish they'd not pulled out the oldest story from the book for the ending. As if this weren't enough, its predictable twist is followed by several unpredictable twists. Now, this might be a positive point for some, but it turned me off. Besides being totally unnecessary, these twists were utterly nonsensical and ruin the ending of the movie. I'd have rather liked the movie as a thriller than as a suspense. Had it ended right before that predictable twist, I guess I'd have liked the movie more.
-
After dishing out twist after twist, many of which are predictable, this film saves the best till last! Very engrossing and unpredictable (as it turns out), this is a top thriller!
-
An intense and hard-boiled thriller. An edge of your seat ride with suspense and surprises that you will never see coming. You'll be guessing right till the very end. A gripping, electrifying, sensational, pulse-pounding and action-packed mystery. John Travolta gives an awsome… More
An intense and hard-boiled thriller. An edge of your seat ride with suspense and surprises that you will never see coming. You'll be guessing right till the very end. A gripping, electrifying, sensational, pulse-pounding and action-packed mystery. John Travolta gives an awsome and explosive performance.
-
This is a great film, John Travolta played an awesome part. Alone with the rest of the crew. The interrogation parts were to real. The Mission parts real. Prior Military will enjoy, those who have never even looked at a uniform let alone put one on, most likely will not enjoy and give… More
This is a great film, John Travolta played an awesome part. Alone with the rest of the crew. The interrogation parts were to real. The Mission parts real. Prior Military will enjoy, those who have never even looked at a uniform let alone put one on, most likely will not enjoy and give a bad review, my question, why did you even rent it. In my opinion a must see movie.
-
-
A spin on Rashomon. Bringing it to modern day with a group of soldiers. This film also saw John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson reunited after Pulp Fiction. Only problem is they are hardly on screen together. Although the film is perfectly respectable, it sometimes fumbles about with… More
A spin on Rashomon. Bringing it to modern day with a group of soldiers. This film also saw John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson reunited after Pulp Fiction. Only problem is they are hardly on screen together. Although the film is perfectly respectable, it sometimes fumbles about with the complex narrative and as the viewer I became as irritated as the lead investigator. Enjoyable but missable.
-
Basic is a suspense thriller from director John McTiernan that's overly complicated and takes a few too many turns. The story follows an investigation into a training accident in which 4 officers have gone missing and are presumed dead. John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L.… More
Basic is a suspense thriller from director John McTiernan that's overly complicated and takes a few too many turns. The story follows an investigation into a training accident in which 4 officers have gone missing and are presumed dead. John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, and Giovanni Ribisi lead the cast and deliver some really good performances. And the story is well told, and effectively builds the suspense and mystery...until the last act. It tries to be a bit too clever and it ends up backfiring. Plot failings aside, Basic still manages to deliver and intense and suspense drama with a captivating mystery.
-
Relying heavily on John Travolta's skills in front of the camera, Basic is held down mostly by its debilitating sets (basically just an office and a hospital bed) while completely keeping the audience in the dark with contradicting stories of what actually happened during the… More
Relying heavily on John Travolta's skills in front of the camera, Basic is held down mostly by its debilitating sets (basically just an office and a hospital bed) while completely keeping the audience in the dark with contradicting stories of what actually happened during the routine training gone bad, until, at one point, nothing makes much sense. Saved by an unforgettable twist ending, however, Basic is still able to reach a level of mediocrity worthy of at least being called an average thriller.
-
Perhaps too many plot twists? Is that possible? But I was pleasantly surprised.
-
The movie thinks it's so smart because it keeps throwing twist after twist, when in reality what it is doing is change all the information all the time.
-
Remember the movie "The Usual Suspects??" If you enjoyed that one, run to see this movie! The acting by Travolta is a joy to watch, and the storytelling will hold your interest...the plot twists are like riding a rollercoaster and will keep your mind spinning. The ending… More
Remember the movie "The Usual Suspects??" If you enjoyed that one, run to see this movie! The acting by Travolta is a joy to watch, and the storytelling will hold your interest...the plot twists are like riding a rollercoaster and will keep your mind spinning. The ending is a stunner you won't see coming, trust me.
-
-
The twist in this movie is subtle which makes it that much better in the end!!!
-
This movie keeps you guessing right until the very end, right when you think you know the truth, it switches on you into a whole different direction.
-
Great film, superb performances and a good twist.
-
Very good story with a twist.
Read all 19 featured audience ratings
Also available on
UltraViolet Retailers
Other Retailers
Subscription Services
