BLOWN AWAY
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 6.0
Date Released: 7/1/94 Running Length: 2:01 Rated: R (Violence, language)
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Lloyd Bridges,
Forest Whitaker, Suzy Amis
Director: Stephen Hopkins
Producers: John Watson, Richard Lewis, and Pen Densham
Screenplay: Joe Batteer and John Rice
Cinematography: Peter Levy
Music: Alan Silvestri
Released by MGM
Bombs detonate, debris raining down on streets as fireballs explode skyward. A cop who makes a habit out of playing the hero prepares for his latest mission, this one far more dangerous than anything in his past. A woman, sitting in the driver's seat of a speeding vehicle, can't put her foot on the brakes for fear of the explosion that action might cause.
This may sound like the storyline for SPEED, but it's really a thumbnail sketch of some of the highlights of BLOWN AWAY ... and that's the problem. It's unfortunate that two movies with so much in common have been released within a month of each other. Unfortunate for BLOWN AWAY, that is. Because not only is SPEED the better movie, but it was released first and, regardless of which film went before the cameras earlier, Keanu Reeves' picture will be viewed as the original by the movie-going public.
Actually, after sitting through the roller coaster ride of SPEED, BLOWN AWAY is a disappointment. It's a little slow by action picture standards, but in comparison to its forerunner, it's an absolute drag. SPEED is a masterpiece of pacing and excitement; BLOWN AWAY is a talky cat-and-mouse affair occasionally interrupted by bursts of pyrotechnics.
The film opens in Ireland, at Castle Gleigh Prison, where lifer Ryan Gaerty (Tommy Lee Jones) is making his escape using a homemade bomb. Once out of prison, he heads to America, where he sees news coverage of a daring bomb defusion by Boston bomb squad officer Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges). That, however, is not the name that Ryan used to know this man by.
Meanwhile, Jimmy has decided to retire from active duty to begin a life with his new wife Kate (Suzy Amis) and stepdaughter. Ryan, however, will have none of that, deciding that the best way to get back at Jimmy for a past "wrong" is by turning the city into a raging inferno, bringing "chaos" and "anarchy" to Boston, courtesy of his own unique skills.
BLOWN AWAY tries to be more than an explosion-laced thriller by attempting some character depth and originality. It doesn't work. All the exposition about Jimmy and Ryan's past involvement is so much window dressing and, considering the amount of time it takes up, ends up hamstringing the action. On top of that, it's unnecessary. A faceless villain, adequately portrayed, would be as effective as Ryan, and there are dozens of other, equally-convincing motives that could be supplied.
Jeff Bridges manages to add an extra layer of depth to his character, but the actor's considerable skills are underused. Similarly, while Tommy Lee Jones brings a suave coolness to Ryan, the villain seems too restrained for this sort of movie. The sadistic charm of an Alan Rickman or the scenery-chomping of a Dennis Hopper is much preferred to Jones' internalized bitterness.
BLOWN AWAY is not a bad motion picture, and in any other summer, it might represent an appealing box-office attraction. In 1994, however, it comes in a distant second to SPEED, and the presence of the other movie serves only to magnify BLOWN AWAY's faults. In trying to build additional complexity into the script and characters, this film has succeeded only in mangling its pacing. There are moments of high tension, but the time spent on the edge of your seat is likely to be outmatched by the time spent drumming your fingers on the armrest, waiting for things to get moving.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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