BLOWN AWAY
A film review by Michael John Legeros
Copyright 1994 Michael John Legeros
Directed by Stephen Hopkins Written by Joe Batteer and John Rice Cast Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Forrest Whitaker, Suzi Amis, Stephi Lineburg, Lloyd Bridges MPAA Rating "R" (for violence, profanity, and well-cooked corpses) Running Time Approx. 120 minutes
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BLOWN AWAY is more blarney than blast--a bum 'boiler about a brilliant bomber baiting a Boston bomb squad bloke. Jones is the joker and Bridges the bluecoat and, if you believe the script, they're both IRA buddies from before. At least they *were*, until a botched bombing sent the set scurrying. Jones went to jail and Bridges went to Beantown, where he changed his identity and became a policeman.
Forget the sustained suspension of SPEED, this "thriller" has holes big enough to drive a city bus through. Here is a film that, among other things, asks its audience to believe that someone with IRA ties (and an Interpol record, no less!) could be hired as a police officer! [Insert clip of author shaking his head.]
Taken "as is," BLOWN AWAY isn't even good escapism. Every character talks too much, and, when the time comes to blow something up (which isn't often enough), the film never shifts into high gear. The filmmakers even botch *the* best set-up in the biz: a chance to cue a scene to the finale of Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture!" Somebody check the cemetery--Hitchcock *must* be rolling in his grave.
(And what about that stupid scene of a booby-trapped hard-drive? Gimme a break! Do big-city bomb squads *really* face situations as seemingly absurd as these? Rigged elevators I'll buy. But not this.)
The acting is all fine, with Forrest Whitaker a particularly welcome addition as another bomb squadder. His presence may be a nod to THE CRYING GAME, but the less said about the Irish angle, the better. Especially in the wake of the just-out-on-video IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER. And don't forget to listen for those great bad accents, including (Jeff) Bridges' back-and-forth Bostonian.
The leads shouldn't fear the future. However badly BLOWN AWAY bombs, Bridges will still be standing. As will Tommy Lee Jones, signed to square off with Val Kilmer in BATMAN FOREVER. But what about director Stephen Hopkins? He's a smart talent who hasn't been given anything *exciting* to film since the vastly underrated PREDATOR 2. Hopefully we haven't seen the last of him.
Grade: C-
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