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Basic

2003 · 98 min

A twisty, talky military mystery that keeps you guessing with shifting interrogations and a tense, stormy atmosphere.

Directed by
John McTiernan
Genres
Thriller, Crime, Mystery
Tagline
Deception is their most dangerous weapon.
Overview
When a hurricane hits a US Army base on the edge of the Panama Canal, an elite covert operations team of US Army Rangers recruits are on a routine jungle training exercise that goes horribly awry. Only two recruits are rescued, one of which is badly injured, but both have different accounts regarding the fate of their leader, legendary and ruthless Army Ranger Drill Sergeant Nathan West, and the rest of their platoon. Tom Hardy, an ex-army Ranger turned maverick DEA agent is brought in to solve the mystery and uncover what really happened out there.

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Directed by
John McTiernan
Genres
Thriller, Crime, Mystery
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 3 of 3
  • cynicalstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
brisk, 3 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • deception
  • mystery
  • corruption
  • betrayal
  • power
Places
  • military
  • wilderness
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • twist ending
  • nonlinear
Content intensity
  • Gore mild
  • Language strong
  • Violence strong
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action6
Horror2
Humour3
Realism6
Romance2
Tension8
Darkness7
Complexity8
Emotional weight5

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Cast

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Details

Genres
thriller, crime, mystery
Directed by
John McTiernan
Written by
James Vanderbilt
Starring
John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van Holt, Taye Diggs, Dash Mihok
Music
Klaus Badelt
Cinematography
Steve Mason
Runtime
98 min
Country
United Kingdom, United States of America
Languages
English

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