ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 10, 1996 TAG: 9602130139
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 10 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIEW REVIEW
SOURCE: MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
"Broken Arrow" is one of those gloriously ridiculous big-budget thrillers that never quite works the way it should. The material doesn't suit director John Woo's style, and there is absolutely no chemistry among the leads.
Deak (John Travolta) is a half-mad Air Force pilot who steals a B-3 Stealth bomber and two nuclear bombs. He overpowers his co-pilot and friend, Hale (Christian Slater), ejecting his seat over the Utah desert. Deak means to use the nukes to blackmail big bucks out of the government. But wait! Hale is rescued by plucky park ranger Samantha Mathis, thereby completing a three-part masterpiece of miscasting.
With assorted henchmen and servicemen in tow, the three set off on a chase utilizing humvees, boats, trains and helicopters. (The film may set a modern record for the number of choppers crashed and blown up.)
If the audience were able to summon up any interest in the main characters, the other flaws might not be so obvious, but they are. The pace is half a step too slow, and because of that, you have time to ask questions. Is Hale at the top of the cliff or the bottom of the cliff? Was it just a coincidence that they found the bad guys' boat in the middle of all that wilderness?
If a good thriller is hitting on all cylinders, you don't care about such things; you sit back and enjoy the ride. When writer Graham Yost last tried his hand at the genre, in "Speed," he got it right, and it's obvious that he's trying to recapture that sensation. But director Woo's best work - "The Killer," "Hard-Boiled" - depends on strong characters and action scenes that take place on an individual scale.
The big special-effects scenes here range in quality from so-so to really impressive, but they lack a human element. Like the rest of "Broken Arrow," they're technically competent and emotionally empty.
Broken Arrow
**
A 20th Century Fox release playing at the Salem Valley 8 and Valley View 6. 105 min. Rated R for violence, strong language.
LENGTH: Short : 46 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: John Travolta plays a Stealth nomber pilot who devises aby CNBnuclear extortion plot in "Broken Arrow." color.