THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, July 2, 1994 TAG: 9407020012
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Movie Review
SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 77 lines
THINGS THAT GO boom in the night are going to be mucho available on this Fourth of July weekend. The area's fireworks displays are much like the big-budgeted new movie ``Blown Away'' - displays. They look impressive and can be fun, but we are cajoled by knowing we are not threatened. The lack of suspense is appropriate to pretty fireworks in the sky, but not to an action flick.
``Blown Away'' is a perfectly acceptable genre actioner - complete with plenty of explosions, a mad killer-bomber and a nicey-nice hero who wants to stop him. The budget allows several larger-than-ordinary explosions, but it's all blast with no real involvement.
Jeff Bridges plays Dove, a significant force in the Boston Bomb Squad. He looks as if he's perplexed by the superficiality of the part.
On the other side of the ledger is Gaerity, a totally crazy bomber who breaks out of a prison in Ireland and heads for Boston to get hero Jeff. He wants revenge, for reasons that are never quite clear. The part is played, in an over-the-top display that almost becomes embarrassing, by Tommy Lee Jones. It's fun to watch Jones in the scene when he performs a variety of characters on a homespun video. For the most part, though, the actor could have used some direction.
Jones even resorts to dancing around and singing a bit - a display that a good director would have curbed. (The director here is Stephen Hopkins, whose resume includes ``Nightmare on Elm Street, Part 5.'' )
Most defeating is that the hero and villain seldom communicate. They could be in separate movies.
Lloyd Bridges, Jeff's real-life dad, has a predictable role as a likable old codger who seems intent upon proving that he's more Irish than a shamrock. He does a hastily contrived imitation of Barry Fitzgerald every time he opens his mouth.
Jeff has a nice girlfriend, played by the personable Suzy Amis. Amis is a violinist and something could have been done, suspense-wise, with the fact that she's playing the 1812 Overture at the same time the biggest of the bombs is about to go off. Amis does, however, drive a jeep that will explode if she steps on the brakes.
Forest Whitaker (``The Crying Game'') is the sidekick who uses his trademark lack of emotion to try and suggest that we should take this seriously. In the movie's worst scene, he has earphones on his head and a bomb about to explode. Bridges sets about trying to defuse the about-to-boom thing, but the script has him make constant wisecracks during the effort. Any semblance of possible suspense is ruined, over and over, because the film feels it has to have half-hearted fun with its subject. If Bridges, who will go up in splinters if the bomb goes off, doesn't care, why should we?
``Blown Away'' could have been the thinking person's ``Speed.'' Instead, it chooses to use old-fashioned, standard techniques rather than going for real suspense. As it is, it will suffer because it is released three weeks after the hit ``Speed.'' ``Speed's'' action may be mindless and unlikely, but it has the wisdom to play it straight. Playing action with a straight face, as opposed to an off-handed wink, can do wonders for involving an audience.
``Blown Away'' is blessed in that it is set in Boston, a city that isn't seen that often in flicks of this type. A respite from New York and Los Angeles is, at least, a new setting. The hints of Irish mood are also welcome.
Still, we've seen, many times before, the one about which wire should we cut - the red or the white one. There is never any doubt that Jeff Bridges will cut the right wire - and he'll even crack a joke while doing it. ILLUSTRATION: Film Review
"Blown Away"
Rated: R
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones, Jeff Bridges
Mal's rating: **1/2
Jeff Bridges, left, and Forest Whitaker star in "Blown Away."
by CNB