Blown Away (1994)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Stephen Hopkins

Writers (WGA):

John Rice (story) &
Joe Batteer (story) ...

Release Date:

1 July 1994 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The fuse has been lit...

Plot:

An Irish bomber escapes from prison and targets a member of the Boston bomb squad.

Plot Keywords:

Prison | Irish | Ireland | Ship | Revenge

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Jeff Bridges	...	James 'Jimmy' Dove / Liam McGivney
Tommy Lee Jones	...	Ryan Gaerity
Suzy Amis	...	Kate Dove
Lloyd Bridges	...	Max O'Bannon
Forest Whitaker	...	Anthony Franklin
Stephi Lineburg	...	Lizzy
John Finn	...	Capt. Fred Roarke
Caitlin Clarke	...	Rita
Christofer de Oni	...	Cortez (as Chris de Oni)
Loyd Catlett	...	Bama
Ruben Santiago-Hudson	...	Blanket
Lucinda Weist	...	Nancy
Brendan Burns	...	Kevin
Patricia A. Heine	...	Connie
Josh McLaglen	...	Prison Guard

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Irish Gaelic

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Australia:M | Canada:14A (Ontario) | South Korea:15 | Netherlands:12 | Ireland:18 | Finland:K-14 | Germany:16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R | Singapore:PG | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Iceland:14 (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Boston Harbor, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Just before the scene where Jimmy claims to have contacted Interpol, a newspaper is shown with the headline "Dichotomy evident as NOW meets in Boston". This appeared in 2 July 1993 Boston Globe.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: When Gaerity orders Guinness in the Irish bar, what he is served is more like lager (totally wrong color and consistency) yet this doesn't seem to faze him.

Quotes:

Anthony Franklin: I gotta tell them the truth. I gotta tell them how I tracked the terrorist, I disarmed the bomb, and I saved the day. And I'm a hero, and everybody loves a hero!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Stealth Fighter (1999)

Soundtrack:

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Blown Up, But No Overly So

This movie was made during the period (early '90s) in which Hollywood was absolutely in love with blowing things up. The more explosions, the better, seemed to be the prevailing attitude.

At least they weren't overdone in this film, as they were in so many others. However, the accents might have been overdone as none of the stars - Jeff Bridges,Tommy Lee Jones, Forest Whitaker, Suzy Amis and Lloyd Bridges - sounded like a true Bostonian.

It's especially odd to hear Jones attempt his Irish-Boston accent, although he's more adept at it than the younger Bridges. Jones plays an Irish terrorist in this revenge movie, wreaking his havoc in Boston. The film's best asset is the suspense it builds for the two hours and the fact it keeps you interested the entire way, right from the opening scene.

The negatives are too much profanity and a contrived story in spots, particularly at the end when the fight between Bridges and Jones goes on forever as does the scene with Jones trying to save his wife. It's just too much. A lot of modern-day action films just don't know when to quit, and this is a prime example. Yet, it's definitely worth at least one look.