On the paper "Blown Away" sounds like the action thriller that would live up to its title. Everything's there: the bomb squad expert keeping his cool even when the place is three seconds away from turning into a Jackson-Pollock-like representation, the family man with a painful secret, the mad bomber and former nemesis back with a vengeance, and so many elaborate devices creating bombs out of the most mundane objects. The film toys with many elements of plausibility but I had no problem believing that men like Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones) existed who could create bombs out of chocolate powder, vinegar, a vacuum hose and a toothpick.
Add to that Boston as the backdrop, several references to Irish culture and a terrific cast that includes (besides Jones) Jeff Bridges as Lieutenant Jimmy Dove (or so everyone thought), his uncle O'Bannon played by his father Lloyd Bridges, Suzy Amis as the future wife and Forest Whitaker who can steal the show with one drop of his sweat. Granted the film wouldn't have been a masterpiece of originality and couldn't do without common tropes of the bomb films, it's quite sad that director Stephen Hopkins left such a high-potential story at the mercy of so many tired clichés: the climactic car race, the melee fight, the dramatic "Nooo!", the past resurrecting when the cop is about to retire (a nod to "High Noon" that starred Daddy Bridges?) and the most misused one: the psychopathic villain.
To tell you what's wrong, let me share an early memory. As I mentioned in many reviews, I used to watch action films with my Dad when they aired on Sunday nights. We were an easy audience, for as long as good action sequences and interesting characters were displayed, we didn't feel like playing critics; we saw "Blown Away" in 1996 and couldn't care less whether the film was better or worse than "Speed". And then came the part where Ryan, having snuck into Jimmy's house, starts jumping on the daughter's bed, manically laughing at the idea that the universe started by an explosion. My father who seemed to be receptive all along said "now, he's trying to play the maniac, it doesn't work". That commentary hit a chord and made me stop looking at the film seriously, not the villain anyway. Watching it again, I've got to say: Dad was right.
Tommy Lee Jones is a terrific actor but with a slight tendency to ham it up. While it worked for his character in "Under Siege", a film that had elements of pop corn comedy à la "Die Hard" and that was calling for an over-the-top villain, channelling the same personality in "Blown Away" creates a stark contrast with the serious burden he carries, and that should justify his grudge against Jimmy. It's a film about Ireland, about past memories, terrorism and so that comedic angle from Jones is both misguided and counter-productive.
The film was often compared with "Speed" but I found a stronger kinship with "Patriot Games", especially the way they insisted on Ryan being too crazy for IRA. Now, I'm not a big fan of the whole madness/vengeance angle to being with, as it makes the adversity so straightforward and gratuitous no room is left for any sympathy toward the bad guy (at least in "Patriot Games", we see Sean Bean's brother dying). "Blown Away" doesn't make the slightest effort whatsoever to make us feel a little for Ryan, except maybe during one specific scene where he shares a pint of Guinness with Lloyd Bridges, for some reason that little Irish bond has an air of authenticity... not that it lasted though.
The rest of the film is an alternate source of enjoyment and frustration. Jimmy's establishing moment consists of defusing a bomb placed in a computer and forcing a female student to keep typing and typing, which is good. Jimmy cuts the right cable one remaining byte away from the explosion, which is laughably cliché. Another scene where he tries to desperately prevent a huge explosion should have been a dramatic highlight, alas it did struck me as a rip-off of John McClane trying to prevent the Windsor plane to crash in "Die Hard 2". Other moments work perfectly, when Franklin (Whitaker) has a bomb placed in his headphone, and a squad member freaks out when he remembers his horoscope. By the way, the chemistry between Bridges and Whitaker almost equals Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon 2".
The 'private life' part is effective, too. Suzy Amis as Kate Dove has some good moments with Stephi Lineburg as the daughter although the film once again exploits the family element by using tropes from other movies. Just like in "Patriotic Games", you get some strong "Fatal Attraction" vibes and you know you've got to worry for the pet animal when there's a psycho stalking a good family. These clichés do interfere with the film's attempts at seriousness. A shame because I loved the premise of a former terrorist trying to atone for his sins until a former nemesis unburies the past... with a vengeance. But there's a limit to which I could accept Ryan's creativity and it lost me with the whole Rube Goldberg device during the obligatory climactic fight (basically, two clichés at once).
It pains me to give a bad review to the film because there were some standout elements besides the two Bridges and Whitaker's acting. I especially loved that scene where Kate and Lizzie were alone at home and kept using familiar objects, each one of them likely to trigger a bomb device placed by Ryan. This sequence intersected with a race around the clock (one that worked at least), was of pure Hitchcockian delight... and one of the truly original moments from "Blown Away", one that was not borrowed from a previous 90s action picture. The rest is pretty generic.
Add to that Boston as the backdrop, several references to Irish culture and a terrific cast that includes (besides Jones) Jeff Bridges as Lieutenant Jimmy Dove (or so everyone thought), his uncle O'Bannon played by his father Lloyd Bridges, Suzy Amis as the future wife and Forest Whitaker who can steal the show with one drop of his sweat. Granted the film wouldn't have been a masterpiece of originality and couldn't do without common tropes of the bomb films, it's quite sad that director Stephen Hopkins left such a high-potential story at the mercy of so many tired clichés: the climactic car race, the melee fight, the dramatic "Nooo!", the past resurrecting when the cop is about to retire (a nod to "High Noon" that starred Daddy Bridges?) and the most misused one: the psychopathic villain.
To tell you what's wrong, let me share an early memory. As I mentioned in many reviews, I used to watch action films with my Dad when they aired on Sunday nights. We were an easy audience, for as long as good action sequences and interesting characters were displayed, we didn't feel like playing critics; we saw "Blown Away" in 1996 and couldn't care less whether the film was better or worse than "Speed". And then came the part where Ryan, having snuck into Jimmy's house, starts jumping on the daughter's bed, manically laughing at the idea that the universe started by an explosion. My father who seemed to be receptive all along said "now, he's trying to play the maniac, it doesn't work". That commentary hit a chord and made me stop looking at the film seriously, not the villain anyway. Watching it again, I've got to say: Dad was right.
Tommy Lee Jones is a terrific actor but with a slight tendency to ham it up. While it worked for his character in "Under Siege", a film that had elements of pop corn comedy à la "Die Hard" and that was calling for an over-the-top villain, channelling the same personality in "Blown Away" creates a stark contrast with the serious burden he carries, and that should justify his grudge against Jimmy. It's a film about Ireland, about past memories, terrorism and so that comedic angle from Jones is both misguided and counter-productive.
The film was often compared with "Speed" but I found a stronger kinship with "Patriot Games", especially the way they insisted on Ryan being too crazy for IRA. Now, I'm not a big fan of the whole madness/vengeance angle to being with, as it makes the adversity so straightforward and gratuitous no room is left for any sympathy toward the bad guy (at least in "Patriot Games", we see Sean Bean's brother dying). "Blown Away" doesn't make the slightest effort whatsoever to make us feel a little for Ryan, except maybe during one specific scene where he shares a pint of Guinness with Lloyd Bridges, for some reason that little Irish bond has an air of authenticity... not that it lasted though.
The rest of the film is an alternate source of enjoyment and frustration. Jimmy's establishing moment consists of defusing a bomb placed in a computer and forcing a female student to keep typing and typing, which is good. Jimmy cuts the right cable one remaining byte away from the explosion, which is laughably cliché. Another scene where he tries to desperately prevent a huge explosion should have been a dramatic highlight, alas it did struck me as a rip-off of John McClane trying to prevent the Windsor plane to crash in "Die Hard 2". Other moments work perfectly, when Franklin (Whitaker) has a bomb placed in his headphone, and a squad member freaks out when he remembers his horoscope. By the way, the chemistry between Bridges and Whitaker almost equals Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in "Lethal Weapon 2".
The 'private life' part is effective, too. Suzy Amis as Kate Dove has some good moments with Stephi Lineburg as the daughter although the film once again exploits the family element by using tropes from other movies. Just like in "Patriotic Games", you get some strong "Fatal Attraction" vibes and you know you've got to worry for the pet animal when there's a psycho stalking a good family. These clichés do interfere with the film's attempts at seriousness. A shame because I loved the premise of a former terrorist trying to atone for his sins until a former nemesis unburies the past... with a vengeance. But there's a limit to which I could accept Ryan's creativity and it lost me with the whole Rube Goldberg device during the obligatory climactic fight (basically, two clichés at once).
It pains me to give a bad review to the film because there were some standout elements besides the two Bridges and Whitaker's acting. I especially loved that scene where Kate and Lizzie were alone at home and kept using familiar objects, each one of them likely to trigger a bomb device placed by Ryan. This sequence intersected with a race around the clock (one that worked at least), was of pure Hitchcockian delight... and one of the truly original moments from "Blown Away", one that was not borrowed from a previous 90s action picture. The rest is pretty generic.