The Digest
Ranger Sgt. Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) is a complete jerk. He chews up his recruits and spits them out, so it is no surprise that one of the recruits kills him during a training session. What is a surprise is the fact that 4 of the 6 recruits are also dead. Leaving the 2 survivors - Dunbar (Brian Van Holt) and Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi)- left to explain what happened. We already know what happened to one of the dead Rangers, as Dunbar is seen killing him, but why? Lt. Julia Osborne (Connie Nielson), the closest thing to a JAG out there, begins to question the Dunbar, but he clams up. This concerns the base Commander Col. Bill Styles (Tim Daly) so he asks for outside help. This help is in the form of a ex-Ranger and now disgraced DEA agent, Tom Hardy (John Travolta)
Though she resents being pushed aside, Lt. Osbourne swallows her pride because Hardy is getting results, but the results are not what they expect. Each survivor points the finger at the other one and lies upon lies pile up. It's up to Osbourne and Hardy to get to the bottom of their stories and figure out the truth - a task that seems next to impossible as the story changes with each re-telling. Are they good enough to figure it all out before it is too late?
The Dish
Holy Moley. I really liked this movie. It reminded me of one of my all time favorites, The Usual Suspects. Now it is no where near as good as SuspectsBUT like Suspects it kept me on the edge on my seat trying to figure out what really happened and you don't know literally until the very end what really happened. Now all of these twists and turns will piss some people off. Truth be told, the story shift one too many times for even me. The final twist confused me and the folks I watched the movie with and that is its fatal mistake and I think that is what will turn people off. In short, you'll either love this movie or hate it and the reason is likely to be plot twists that end up confusing the viewer rather than clearing things up.
That said, that is really my primary complaint. I personally really enjoyed Travolta and that hasn't happened in quite some time. I'm a fan from the Vinny Barbarino days and was ready to give it up altogether. Hardy is almost as difficult to follow as the plot. You know he has some demons, but he is so likeable that you can almost forgive him for what he supposedly did and you have to respect his skills as an interrogator. When he wasn't making wise cracks, he kept you in awe over how he manages to get to the bottom of everything. You've heard me complain about Samuel L. Jackson always cussing & fussing and screaming & hollering - well there was plenty of that and it worked. The audience needed to loathe West in order to be pulled into the story. Jackson portrays West as a complete and total bastard, you want him dead and totally understand why he ends up laying in a pool of his own blood. Connie Nielsen didn't quite capture the essence of her character as well as Travolta and Jackson. Despite that, she was not the acting weak link. That honor is shared between Tim Daly and Harry Connick, Jr. I love me some Harry, but I just wasn't feeling him and Daly was extremely transparent. I honestly am not sure if the fault lies with them or the script.
All in all I loved every minute of this movie and I actually can't wait for the video so I can go back and catch some of the things I missed. I'm sure I'll have to watch it 2 or 3 times to grasp everything I missed.
The Directive
Great date movie. Should lead to lots of discussion.
There is nothing basic about this multi-layered story that has more twists and turns than a Coney Island roller coaster.
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Copyright Kamal "The Diva" Larsuel-Ulbricht, 2003
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