Broken Arrow
Tags: dark, comedy, murder, violence, humor, action, romantic

Plot synopsis:
Major Vic Deakins (John Travolta) and Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater), pilots in the United States Air Force, are assigned to a top secret exercise over Utah, flying a B-3 Stealth Bomber (a fictional iteration of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber) with two B83 nuclear bombs on board. After successfully evading Air Force radar, Deakins attacks Hale and ejects him out of the plane. Deakins then releases the bombs without detonating them and reports that Hale has gone rogue. He then ejects from the plane, leaving it to crash.
A search and rescue team is sent to recover the warheads. They do not find the warheads and report a "Broken Arrow", a situation wherein nuclear weapons are missing. The team later locates the warheads in a canyon but are killed by mercenaries, including Sgt. Kelly (Howie Long), a corrupt member of the team. Deakins arrives moments later and plots his next move with Pritchett (Bob Gunton), the operation's financier. They plan to blackmail the US government with the threat of detonating the warhead in a populated area.
Hale survives the ejection and is found by park ranger Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis). He convinces her to help him track down Deakins. After recovering the warheads and escaping to a nearby copper mine, Hale attempts to disable them by intentionally entering the arming code incorrectly. However, as Deakins had rigged the device, Hale's actions instead arm the warhead. He hides the remaining one deep in an abandoned mine.
Deakins' team arrive and secure the unarmed warhead. Deakins then shortens the detonation time and leaves Hale and Terry to die. A NEST team helicopter chases Deakins' team. During the chase, Deakins kills Pritchett after he becomes fed up with the latter's complaints. Hale and Terry escape from the mine via an underground river just before the bomb detonates. The bomb's EMP destroys the NEST helicopter, allowing Deakins to escape. Terry and Hale track him to a motorboat used for transporting the warhead. While trying to steal the boat, Terry is forced to hide onboard while Deakins moves the warhead. Military forces rescue Hale.
Hale deduces that Deakins intends to use a train to transport the warhead. Travelling on helicopter with Colonel Wilkins (Delroy Lindo), Hale infiltrates the train and finds Terry. A gunfight ensues and the helicopter is destroyed; Wilkins and most of Deakins' mercenaries are killed. With his own helicopter sabotaged by Hale and his plan falling apart, Deakins decides to detonate the warhead regardless. Not wanting to die, Kelly holds Deakins at gunpoint and orders him to disarm the weapon. Hale takes advantage of the situation and kicks Kelly out of the train to his death.
Terry detaches the rear section of the train (with the bomb) from the front, but gets into a shootout with the engineer. The latter is shot and falls on the train brakes, causing the train to stop. The detached boxcars continue to coast at high speed. Meanwhile, Deakins, still in possession of a device that can either disarm or detonate the bomb, forces Hale to drop his gun and challenges him to close-quarters combat. Hale eventually overpowers Deakins, acquires the detonator, disarms the warhead, and leaps out of the train. As the detached boxcars slam into the halted front half, the warhead flies into Deakins, and the entire train derails and explodes, incinerating him.
Hale finds Terry and the damaged nuclear warhead. The two formally introduce themselves to each other amidst the wreckage.

Review: I love this movie and it is never too long or boring unlike Face/Off. In my honest opinion the movie to me is compared to Die Hard and it is one of John Woo's best underrated action movies but that is just my opinion.
Christian Slater as the Good guy, the Hero was cool and John Travolta was an intriguing character and hilarious, damn what a rush.
The best thing about this movie though is John Travolta who hams it up beautifully; he is having an absolute blast as Vic Deakins, former US Air Force pilot turned terrorist loon.
I have always enjoyed this movie, I never felt bored I love the action sequences on the train when Hale (Christian Slater) uses one of his martial arts to defeat Deakins (John Travolta) was spectacular he deactivate the nuclear device and kills Deakins it was outstanding.
Which I never watched that movie before I am glad they both of the actors (Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis) worked together once more again.Broken Arrow has plenty of flaws but for sheer explosive entertainment you could do a lot worse.
John Travolta stars in this mindless thriller in which he steals a nuclear weapon and its up to Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis to save the world..
Overall a good action flick with a leave your brain at home plot..Travolta goes slightly over the top with his character but is still good..Slater is ok and Mathis does what she can with what little the script gives her..
If you want an action film in which the hero has a personality, and the bad guy has an even better personality, take a look at Broken Arrow.
He is great at creating interesting relationships between heroes and villains, and this film is a good example.John Travolta is terrific.
"Broken Arrow" is a good action film about a Stealth pilot (John Travolta) who steals nuclear weapons one night during a practice mission.
Slater and Travolta play pilots testing a new bomber, when one of them decides to steal the missiles on board the other must begin a personal fight to stop him.As with Hard Target this is a solid enough action movie but it really could have been made by anyone, Woo's style only really comes through in a few scenes (the birds eye view of the opening boxing match, double handed gun play).
Slater clearly wants to be like Keanu was in Speed but doesn't convince as an action hero, Mathis is cute but that doesn't make her performance good - she pretty much a non-entity and doesn't really have much chemistry with Slater.Again a solid action movie that is OK for a Saturday night, but with the stars, the budget and a director of this calibre you can't help but feel this was a missed opportunity..
Grab on to that chair.BROKEN ARROW may be required to take a deep long breath, because when it starts, it's a ripping action-packed joy ride complete with guns, explosions, action heroes, great baddies, helicopters, jeeps, chases and all under the great helm of Hong Kong action god John Woo, here having a filed day with special effects, stunts and style.
This is one of the finest piece of action escapism in years, it's also one of the most stylish ones.John Travolta and Christian Slater star as two military pilots who volunteers to transport two nuclear warheads via Stealth Bomber jet.
Samantha Mathis co-stars as a local sheriff Terry Carmichael who gets caught up in the entire mess, and ends up helping Hale out to stop Deakins from going ballistic (there are very few romantic in-turns between the two, just for the good of it).The film runs at 108 minutes, and Woo doesn't let things up.
Yeah it's a Hollywood movie from the 1990s so we're treated to very unlikely plot twists in a movie where the good guy and an innocent woman just doing her job have to stop bad guys so get ready for firefights , explosions and the obligatory scene of a countdown BROKEN ARROW might not be a classic action adventure movie ( It's a little too formuliac ) but it's better than most from the 1990s .
What a sophomoric action-adventure story this turned out to be, one in which nobody can shoot straight, people aren't killed when they are supposed to be, the heroes get out of impossible situations all the time, etc., etc., all making this a movie with absolutely NO credibility.Tack on a very irritating female heroine who turns from park ranger to Rambo overnight, and it really gets ludicrous.However, there were a few bright moments.
Then again, one can always except spectacular action shots from director John Woo. However, most of Woo's films are also dumb, like this one.John Travolta was fine in a low-key role but the rest of the cast.....forget it.
exhilarating action from John Woo. a madman has stolen two nuclear warheads and threatens to detonate them over a populated area if his demand for money is not met.that's the gist of the story.it stars John Travolta,Christian Slater,Samantha Mathis and Delroy Lindo,to name a few.it's a pulse pounding thriller from John Woo(mission Impossible 2).there's obviously a lot of action,and suspense,and the movie goes right down to the wire.John Travolta is good,as is Christian Slater,but i really liked Samantha Mathis,who i feel is and underrated actress.the action scenes are are exhilarating,though admittedly over the top.but for thrills,you can't beat it.for me,Broken Arrow is an 8/10.
In his second Hollywood action movie, John Woo lives up to his tag- name "The Mozart of Mayhem" : and he certainly doesn't disappoint!
Delroy Lindo as ever, was good, as was Christian Slater - good guys are never as much fun to watch as the villains!John Woo imposes his signature dramatic flair and, so, elevates this from the more generic action thrillers.
If you want a film that delivers well paced action, some great one-liners and plenty of thrills, Broken Arrow is one to watch.Overall rating: 8 out of 10..
I would compare this with the under-rated "Chill Factor" rather than "Speed." If you want a film that delivers well paced action, some great one-liners and plenty of thrills, Broken Arrow is one to watch..
Broken Arrow, the lesser known John Woo actioner with John Travolta (Face/Off being the favoured sibling) is an adrenaline blast of pure popcorn movie enchantment.
This has the best action of any of the John Woo films(yes, this beats Face/Off in my opinion).
This is a good old fashion action flick from director John Woo, where John Travolta plays corrupted Air Force Major Vic 'Deak' Deakins who intentionally crash lands a U.S. plane holding two nuclear warheads.
He demands $250,000,000 from the government in return for the warheads and his co-pilot, Captain Riley Hale (Christian Slater) and U.S. park ranger Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis) attempt to stop him.This movie has some good direction and a fast-paced plot that kept the story interesting and captivating.
Broken Arrow is a solid action film with equally impressive performances from both John Travolta and Christian Slater.
John Travolta and Christian Slater are great in their roles as Deakins and Hale two friends turned adversaries after a training exercise goes awry.
Please don't buy it but, if you already have then save your soul and the sanity of your loved ones and burn it - you'll probably suffer less damage from the resulting toxic fumes than you would from watching this film.If you want to see a military thriller, I'd suggest "The Hunt for Red October."  If you want to see John Travolta, I'd recommend "Pulp Fiction" - the movie that rightfully saved his career.
John Travolta tries being villainous, but he does better as Castor Troy.Overall, not a good way to spend your time when there are so many better movies available.
The only reason why BROKEN ARROW is not a very-bad film is John Woo's directing.
The supporting cast does a fine job, Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis deliver just the right degree of straight acting to keep the film from veering into satire, and John Travolta delivers his BEST performance to date: you can FEEL his perpetual inner tension, his channeled insanity, his command and control of the film to its denouement -- he pulls us along with him for the entire coaster ride.
In fact, a good barometer to gauge whether they are worth you time is to ask them: "Have you ever seen 'Broken Arrow' with John Travolta?" If they say "Yes!" and their faces light up and they mention some element of the film they really liked, then you know you've found an interesting person with whom to converse.
(Limited double gun action and so forth) While I would have liked this movie even more if Woo went all out like in THE KILLER or HARD-BOILED, he showed that he doesn't need to depend on bullet ballet film making to create cool action scenes.
What else can I say other than John Travolta's vilainous performance was slick, and that Slater made a great action hero?
John Woo (Director of Face/Off) creates a dazzling array of frantic gun battles and gripping action centred around the duelling pair Slater and Travolta.
I've always had this thing were I believe the big fat US execs are drumming their fingers together thinking of ways to knock this foreign film maker down a peg or two, especially if they generally make better pictures than most Hollywood directors!Which a lot of them do.When John Woo, who made quite possibly some of the finest films in not just HK cinema history, but overall, got his big break in Hollywood with Hard Target, I knew this would be the beginning of the end for him.Jumping on to Broken Arrow, and along with Face Off, these seemed to be the final passing moments of a cinematic master...Long gone were the wow factors such as Hard Boiled, The Killer, and Bullet In The Head, had given us.
Now, Hollywood were pounding the crap out of Mr. Woo to spit out what we know as typical Hollywood blockbusters, most of which work on a visual level but are a flop to both their studios and their fans!The first problem that hit me with Broken Arrow, was the over-rated John Travolta.
This odd looking man overacts his way through this flick with pure cheese as his guide dog, that lends itself to a cartoon like bad guy for the duration.Slater actually comes across quite well, and handles the action scenes enjoyably which shows.
They say action, yes by all means, but the brotherhood and drama of his own films is what really screams Woo and we don't really see that in his Hollywood junk.Broken Arrow is fun.
Broken Arrow is your typical John Woo movie because it does deliver the thrills.
But the weapons are eventually stolen by a surprising turn of events and that may cause some serious trouble if weapons are not found.Christian Slater and John Travolta are the two main stars of the film and they do a solid job.
That said, I still get a kick out of Broken Arrow, the director's second US effort: the plot might be your typically dumb US action nonsense, full of glaring plot holes, but the film still displays enough of Woo's cool visual style and expertly choreographed action to make it a cut above the competition.Working with big Hollywood stars and a massive budget, Woo pulls off some ridiculously outrageous comic-book action, building to a glorious orgy of violence aboard a speeding train carrying a live nuclear device to Denver, with only fighter pilot Capt.
While the film undoubtedly contains most of the elements of a top action film, there is more to it than that.John Travolta delivers and excellent performance as the fighter pilot-turned-terrorist, and the role affords him some of the best lines that you are likely to hear in a film (although you have to see most of them to understand).
"I say Goddamn what a rush!" is just electrifying when delivered by Travolta.Of course there are holes in the plot, and the 'two plucky heroes' format may be getting worn, but Woo and his cast make it work, and deliver a film that is sure to set your action muscles a-tingling!.
It starred my favorite actor Cristian Slater and I just wanna say that he kicked the living s**t out of John Travolta at the end of the movie.
One of my personal favorite action movies my second favorite John Woo film.
Broken Arrow (1996) is my personal favorite John Woo underrated action film that I love to death.
John Travolta and Christian Slater are in their finest roles in this breathtaking John Woo rollercoaster action movie.
I enjoy this movie MILES more than Face/Off the most overrated John Woo film.
Broken Arrow is my action movie from the 90's that I watch constantly.The stunt work in here is very dangerous and all practical real, for example Christian Slater's character is right above the ground shooting the helicopter and you see the helicopter hops right over him and Samantha Mathis one in the same shoot.
This was the second US movie that John Woo directed and yes it was really good done action movie.
I love John Travolta in this movie which I think he did one of his best acting performances of his life.
Broken Arrow is a big budget blockbuster film from John Woo starring John Travolta and Christian Slater who are pilots assigned to carry a nuclear weapon when Travolta decides to go rogue.
Broken Arrow is a big budget blockbuster film from John Woo starring John Travolta and Christian Slater who are pilots assigned to carry a nuclear weapon when Travolta decides to go rogue.
Broken Arrow is a big budget blockbuster film from John Woo starring John Travolta and Christian Slater who are pilots assigned to carry a nuclear weapon when Travolta decides to go rogue.
"Broken Arrow" is John Woo`s second American film.
"Broken Arrow" is quite predictable, Christian Slater isn`t as bad as usual, and John Travolta delivers a stunning performance as the villain.
All in all, Broken Arrow is an interesting movie to watch, if only to see John Travolta put in another impressive performance..
The movie is great.Travolta is perfect as Vic Deakins.But it looks like Christian Slater is a little bit lost.He doesn't fit in in action-films.He was great in Robin Hood and Interview with the vampire.OK True Romance was great but this and Hard Rain are not the best Slater-films.Samantha Mathis is NOT believable in her role.Delroy Lindo is good (as usual).John Woo and John Travolta seems to be a great combination.Face/Off is also a very good movie.I think that Woo is gonna make "Mission:Impossible 2".Travolta makes it cool to be crazy.
Take these ingredients and mix them together: John Woo, John Travolta, Christian Slater, Samantha Mathis, killer music, loads of non-stop action including multiple explosions, a smart script and what do you get?
The movie starts with John Travolta and Christian Slater in a boxing ring.
I really can't see why an actor like John Travolta took a role in this movie.
I never liked John Woo and this film is the epitome of bad movie making.
The plot revolves around a duel between two Airforce pilots, Deakins (John Travolta) and Hale (Christian Slater): Deakins steals two warheads in the Utah desert while Hale teams up with a good-looking park ranger (Samantha Mathis) to stop Deakins and his sinister cohorts.I have to admit that I usually don't like mindless action flicks, like 2001's "The Mummy Returns," mainly because the stories are shallow and nothing more than an excuse to string together endless absurd action sequences.
They don't even show.But these types of things don't matter much in an action movie like this; it's all about going for a fun ride and "Broken Arrow" delivers the goods from most angles.The film runs 108 minutes.GRADE: B.
From the opening boxing match, to the underground nuclear explosion and the climax on the train this movie thrilled.Admittedley, as other commentators have pointed out...this is a run of the mill action movie which is elevated by John Woo, Travolta and Slater to above average.
I enjoyed this action movie starring Christian Slater and John Travolta.
You have your great action scenes as Slater's character tries his best to stop Travolta's character's scheme with the help from I believe is a park ranger or something to that effect.
Directed by John Woo and with a cast led by John Travolta and Christian Slater, you could be forgiven for wanting more than this action thriller ultimately delivers; but if take off your film critic head and just watch it for what it is you will find a movie that is acted well, packed with John Woo style over the top action and entertaining to watch.OK the story is a little hard to take seriously as are the actions of the characters in it, but it's supposed to be like this, its an un-plug your mind popcorn movie that is good fun to enjoy.
It's not as good as some of Woo's later films, like M:I-2 or Face off, but it's still worth watching.7/10.
"Broken Arrow," John Woo's second U.S. feature, is perhaps as exciting as an action movie could get, but somewhere in there, much like the nuclear warheads that are the pawns of much of the film's dialogue, things get lost along the way.It could be stated that Woo is one of the most valuable directorial talents Hollywood has seen, since making his American debut on 1993's "Hard Target," which starred Jean-Claude Van Damme.
John Travolta's acting is great, he is so sinister I think it's one of his best movies.
And, this being a John Woo movie, you get his trademarks: Two-handed gun battles, slow-mo shots and perhaps even birds, although they weren't as memorably put in scene as usually.If you like action, you'll love this.