Broken Arrow

1996

3/4 Stars

Broken Arrow is a great dumb movie. Essentially a series of climaxes, the film jumps quickly from one set piece to the next. The plot, which isn't really that important, revolves around bomber pilot Deke (John Travolta) attempting to steal a nuclear weapon. For some reason, the only man capable of stopping him is his co-pilot Hale (Christian Slater).

Director John Woo is known for his action work, and this does not disappoint. The film begins with a boxing match (between Deke and Hale- so symbolic!), follows up with a camp-ground shooting, a fist fight in a plane, a plane crash, a fight with a park ranger, a shooting on a ridge, a shooting in a canyon, a helicopter explosion, a humvee battle, a fight in mine, a vintage 2 pistol John Woo shootout, a nuclear detonation, another helicopter explosion, a fight on a train, another helicopter explosion, followed by a fourth helicopter explosion, another boxing match, and then a train explosion. That is the entire movie. Awesome.