BLOWN AWAY

(July 1994, U.S.)

During a period of one year, from the Summer of 1994 to 1995, there were four action films that focussed on bombers. They were SPEED, THE SPECIALIST, DIE HARD WITH A VENGEANCE and BLOWN AWAY. For the pure action adrenalin rush that so many people love, SPEED is probably the film of choice - I would choose it, too, for the same reason. For story and performance, as well as action, BLOWN AWAY stands out, thanks primarily to its two stars, Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones.

Thinking back to the 1990's, it seems that I recall many terrorist enemies in films just happened to be Irish; IRA or some outside radicalist organization. This observation is not meant to be sterotypical. Just look at the film examples; PATRIOT GAMES (1992), Irish terrorists. THE CRYING GAME (1992), Irish terrorists. THE DEVIL'S OWN (1997), Irish terrorist played badly by Brad Pitt. And finally, BLOWN AWAY, Irish terrorist played very well by Jones. This is, I suppose, how moviemakers saw terrorist before Al Qaeda and Islamic extremists became a part of our 21st Century lives.

From a purely cinematic perspective, BLOWN AWAY is a spectacular action film with a reasonably intellignet, viable story to boot. Bridges plays Lt. Jimmy Dove, a veteran disposal technician for the Boston police bomb squad who knows his enemy, Ryan Gaerity (played by Jones), an Irish terrorist (with a rather sick sense of humor) who's recently escaped from a prison in Northern Ireland. Dove knows Gaerity's tactics well because he used to be with him in Ireland before he came to Boston to escape his violent past. So basically, you have a story about the good guy who was once a bad guy, but he's not bad anymore and now he has to stop the bad guy from taking personal revenge against the good guy by blowing up Boston and killing its cops. Understand?

Favorite line or dialogue:

Ryan Gaerity: "I've come here to create a new country for you called chaos, and a new government called anarchy."