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"Here's a Picture of a
Lousy Henchman..." |
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Directed by John Woo -
Written by Graham Yost
Starring John Travolta,
Christian Slater,
Samantha Mathis, Delroy
Lindo
Distributed by FOX -
1996 - 108 mins - Rated
R |
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A comedy routine with slow motion and dual pistol action. |
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Hale: You're out of your mind.
Deakins: Yeah. Ain't it cool?
"Broken Arrow" is full of lines like the ones above. They sound so
dumb on paper, but when you hear them spoken they take on a bizarre,
almost endearing, quality. It's corny, but it's very funny. Is it
intentional? I have no idea. What I do know, is that "Broken Arrow" is
just as cheesy as any other John Woo action film, but it really is so
much fun.
Deakins: "I have a stockbroker in Sweden who can help me buy 5% of
Volvo. Then I can comfortably live the rest of my life knowing that I
am helping build the world's safest cars."
So says Deakin (John Travolta), on what he's going to use his $250
million on once the government pays up to stop him from detonating a
nuclear bomb he stole from his own jet. He never counted on his
co-pilot Hale (Christian Slater) to try to stop him. It's up to Hale
and a ditzy park ranger (Samantha Mathis) to stop Deakin and his small
army of goons. In natural Woo style, they accomplish this through lots
of slow-motion and dual pistol action.
The action is fun, but pretty standard. Most of the acting is stale.
This doesn't matter, though, because the real draw to this movie is
Travolta, overacting to a point where he should be bad, but isn't. He
somehow takes his cheesy lines and turns them into a savory comic
treat on film. After killing a man, he says to himself, "That was the
first time I have ever killed a man...I don't see what the big deal
is, I really don't." He also barks to a henchman, "Would you please
refrain from shooting at the thermonuclear weapon, thank you!" It's a
performance that edges on brilliant, but because he's the villain in a
John Woo film, it doesn't get much recognition.
I guess what can be said about "Broken Arrow" is that it is a helluva
ride, but there is little beyond Travolta in the grand scheme of
things. |
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© Written by Jacob Hall |
TC Candler's Comment
I go from
hating this film to begrudgingly enjoying it.
It is more like a cartoon than a real film, with
bad guys who you expect to be twirling mustaches
and damsels in distress. Still, I manage
to enjoy it despite the lunacy.
Richard
Propes' Comment
There was
something about this film I enjoyed, but for the
life of me I can't remember it. I simply don't
care enough about the film to go back and find
out, and so I settle for a grade of mediocrity.
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