Basic (2003) * * *

Directed by:  John McTiernan

Starring:  John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L. Jackson, Tim Daly, Brian Van Holt, Giovanni Ribisi, Taye Diggs

Basic's plot and myriad plot twists won't hold up under scrutiny.   Think about what has to fall right for the heroes to succeed in their mission, starting with...well I won't spoil it for you.   I'll tread lightly.   Col. Nathan West (Jackson), who won't win any popularity contests with his trainees, leads a special forces training exercise in the middle of a Panama jungle during a hurricane.   Rain is pounding everything and everyone, while the winds almost lift bodies off the ground.   There is so much precipitation, the poor actors and crew members shooting outdoors must have prayed for coffee and blankets nearby when director McTiernan yelled, "Cut!"

Col. West and two other members of the trainee group are killed, a suspect being held for questioning (Van Holt) won't speak to anyone but a fellow Army Ranger, and a witness is in the hospital with multiple wounds.   Base Colonel Bill Styles (Daly) opts to bring in former ranger now DEA agent Tom Hardy (Travolta) to speak to the witness and the suspect, whose stories naturally conflict.   What actually happened in the jungle is told through varying points of view.   With so much rain and darkness, it is difficult to tell who did what to whom and why, but we go along anyway. 

Hardy is a smooth talker with a knack of prying loose secrets from the suspects.   His partner for the night is Lt. Julia Osborne (Nielsen), who Styles throws over in favor of Hardy for reasons I still can't quite wrap my head around.  Osborne and Hardy banter and bicker, with Hardy putting on the moves as Osborne resists the flirtation.   But she sticks with Hardy because she wants to know the truth, if such a thing exists in this case.

Basic is an exercise in style with enough swerves to keep you involved, even if they don't make much sense afterwards.   We always love when a plan comes together, even if it's as fraught with loose ends as this one potentially was.   Basic isn't about the story, but about the twists and turns.   You see more than your fair share of both in Basic, almost as much as you do the rain.