As Good As It Gets

An Exercise In Nonsense

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Basic has an interesting plot and premise, as well as decent enough film editing, and acting. The film is full of plot twists in the end, where it becomes more interesting as the film goes along. Basic has been panned by critics but in several ways is quite underrated and overall intriguing and an entertaining drama thriller. Though we have seen films as this before, Basic doesn't quite follow the same route. In the end, the pieces will keep you guessing as an overall film tone.

I saw this movie back in 2004 and I liked it (or so I thought).After a few years I had the opportunity to watch it again. The strange thing was, although I remembered how it ends, I couldn't find a logical path of what happens in the movie and what was true and what wasn't.Today (June of 2016), after I watched Connie Nielsen in another movie, I remembered the existence of "Basic" (and how she looked good with her short blond hair and the uniform) and I sought it to watch it, but again, although I remembered the last couple of scenes and the resolution of the film, I still couldn't remembered how the plot evolves. What I'm saying is that the movie is incoherent and the narrative is (purposely I guess, to give a sense of continuous twists) confusing. I also find it less satisfying in todays standards despite the obvious chemistry between John Travolta and Connie Nielsen.To realize how confusing the plot is, take a look at the contents in Wikipedia. Usually in a movie, there is a "Plot" section with a summary or a more detailed description of the plot. Here you have ...subsections of the plot as follows:1.1 Dunbar's story1.2 Kendall's story1.3 Dunbar's second story1.4 Kendall's second story1.5 Pike's final explanation1.6 Final twist and explanationI don't recall any other movie to have such a structure in its topic in Wikipedia!!The thing is you are trying to follow what is happening (especially in the first viewing) and you even might have a suspicion about who the actual bad guy is, but the convulsive script combined with John McTiernan's erratic direction, have as a result a movie that is ultimately confusing.If you see it superficially you will probably enjoy it. Travolta's character has an attitude of a "know-it-all" maverick investigator, Connie Nielsen looks really good, and the end is designed to think of it as rewarding and satisfying.But if you look more closely and give it a second thought you will see clearly that this movie is more like a disappointment.**P.S.: The atmosphere and the theme of the movie, plus the similar lead role of Travolta, but with Madeleine Stowe instead of Connie Nielsen, reminded me of The General's Daughter (1999). A better movie if you ask me.

Then this would be a reasonably entertaining thriller. No matter how muddled or confusing this film, Basic ends up being, there is no denying how smart the film is. The script could have used a major overhaul because there are so many twists, but somehow I was able to stay on page. Yes that gave me a headache, but I couldn't help but be intrigued by the characters, especially those played by John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. The directing is excellent and so are the technical side of things.John McTiernan, known for directing Die Hard and Predator, directs a film and it's about how a group of army rangers head to Panama for training during a hurricane and ends up in disaster. When two survivors are picked up and each tell different stories, it's up to DEA Agent Tom Hardy to figure out who is telling the truth.The acting is pretty good for the most part. John Travolta was excellent and quite sinister as Hardy. I always love when Jackson plays a badass and he does that here as the Master Sergeant. Connie Nielsen is decent as Captain Julia Osborne. For the rest of the crew, they were good but nothing memorable.Overall, I found Basic to be a good movie. I generally like twists in my thrillers, but too many of them can hold a movie back from greatness. This film had potential, but the screenplay failed to justify that potential. That being said, it's an intriguing thriller with great acting, great direction, and of course is action-packed so it won't get boring. But with a twist too many, this film can settle for mediocrity. I rate this film 7.5/10.

Sergeant West (Samuel L. Jackson) is ruthless with his soldiers, very experienced, powerful, dominator and is aware the fact that its slightly out of yarn. While on a training a storm hits the unexpected and thus they are forced to land in middle of the jungle. Everything goes wrong and ends with Sgt and cadets to kill each other but two manage to survive, one is in the hospital and the other detained for questioning. Officer Hardy (John Travolta) is sent to interrogate the soldier and to find out what really happened that night and is helped by Colonel Osbourne.For this kind is well thought out but has small glitches with the sudden twists of the situation but also an exciting moment when we find true soldier Dunbar race. Also note the good performances from John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Giovanni Ribisi.