Broken Arrow (1996)

Director:

John Woo

Writer (WGA):

Graham Yost (written by)

Release Date:

9 February 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Thriller

Tagline:

Prepare to Go Ballistic

Plot:

Terrorists steal nuclear warheads from the US military but don't count on a pilot and park ranger spoiling their plans.

Plot Keywords:

Locker Room | Die Hard Scenario | Stealth Bomber | Blockbuster | Villain Played By Lead Actor

Awards:

1 win & 3 nominations

Cast

John Travolta	...	Maj. Vic 'Deak' Deakins
Christian Slater	...	Capt. Riley Hale
Samantha Mathis	...	Terry Carmichael
Delroy Lindo	...	Colonel Max Wilkins
Bob Gunton	...	Pritchett
Frank Whaley	...	Giles Prentice
Howie Long	...	Kelly
Vondie Curtis-Hall	...	Chief Sam Rhodes
Jack Thompson	...	Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff
Vyto Ruginis	...	Johnson
Ousaun Elam	...	Lt. Thomas
Shaun Toub	...	Max
Casey Biggs	...	Novacek
Jeffrey J. Stephen	...	Shepherd
Joey Box	...	Frakes

MPAA:

Rated R for strong action violence and language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA (DVD rating) | France:Unrated | Malaysia:18SG | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (re-rating) | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-16 | Germany:16 (w) | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #34096)

Filming Locations:

Barstow, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Samantha Mathis plays Terry Carmichael, the love interest of Christian Slater's character Riley Hale. She also played the love interest of Slater's character in the movie Pump Up the Volume (1990).

Goofs:

Errors in geography: Carmichael tells Hale that the mine shaft is 2000 ft deep. There are various related errors, such as how long the elevator takes to get up and down, but the most egregious error is that from the bottom of the shaft, they catch an underground river which flows them "up" to the river outside.

Quotes:

Secretary Baird: Guys in lawn chairs. I dunno, Giles. Sometimes you scare me.
Giles Prentice: Hell, sir. Sometimes I scare myself.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "HBO First Look: Broken Arrow (#3.1)" (1996)

Classic John Woo!

If you want an action film in which the hero has a personality, and the bad guy has an even better personality, take a look at Broken Arrow. John Woo's choreographed action is not as dramatic as the Matrix-clone films that are so common today. He is great at creating interesting relationships between heroes and villains, and this film is a good example.

John Travolta is terrific. Christian Slater breaks typecast by playing a nice, sane soldier doing his duty. The love interest isn't an idiotic supermodel playing a nuclear scientist or something, but a park ranger, also doing her duty. She is cute, earthy, and actually believable.

If you want a film that will repeat every aspect of every other military adventure film you have ever seen, you will be disappointed. If dialog bores you, skip this film. If you like action movies filmed entirely in parking garages and spooky allies, then you will not appreciate the settings in this film in America's majestic West.