Basic - Behind every lie a truth

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Movie
German title Basic - Behind every lie a truth
Original title basic
Country of production USA , Germany
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length 98 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
JMK 14
Rod
Director John McTiernan
script James Vanderbilt
production Mike Medavoy ,
Arnold Messer ,
Michael Tadross ,
James Vanderbilt
music Klaus Badelt
camera Steve Mason
cut George Folsey Jr.
occupation

Basic - Behind every lie a truth (original title: Basic ) is a thriller by the director John McTiernan from 2003 with John Travolta in the leading role.

action

November 1, 1999 in Panama : The US Army Fort Clayton military base in the Panama Canal Zone trains Army Rangers . A training platoon is commanded by the tyrannical Sergeant West, who harasses his soldiers. He leads a group of six soldiers into an exercise in the rainforest during an approaching hurricane . In groups of two they should shoot 20 targets each and then reach a rally point. When the headquarters didn't hear from them, they were searched for in a storm on November 2nd (the day of the dead ) by helicopter. The search only leads to the rescue of two soldiers (Dunbar and Kendall). During the approach of the helicopter, Dunbar, who was carrying the injured Kendall on his shoulders, engaged in a firefight with his comrade Mueller, in which Mueller was shot. Three other soldiers and Sergeant West remain missing.

The commander - Colonel Bill Styles - must try to resolve the matter within six hours before the suspects are transferred to the United States. The two refused to testify to the responsible investigator Julia Osborne, commander of the military police. Dunbar writes on a piece of paper that he only wants to speak to a ranger from outside because he doesn't trust anyone here. When Colonel Styles notices that Dunbar has also scribbled the number "8" on the piece of paper, he calls in the former ranger and his friend Tom Hardy as an investigator. After retiring from the military, Hardy works as an investigator for the DEA , the US government's anti-drug agency. Due to an allegation of bribery from a drug lord he has arrested, he is currently suspended from duty until the allegations are cleared up. He is currently in Panama and is at the military base within a short time. Osborne is angry and disappointed, however, because she says that the commander does not trust her to solve the case.

The surviving soldier Dunbar is questioned first and slowly gains confidence in the former ranger Hardy.

The second soldier, Kendall, has suffered a gunshot wound and is therefore in hospital. It turns out that he is the son of a high-ranking general who is also an advisor to the US President on the Joint Chiefs of Staff . The general has a problem with his son's homosexuality and the two of them do not have a good relationship. When Kendall started dating a local man, the general intervened and got his son on Sergeant West's training train.

Kendall describes how Sergeant West was killed by a phosphorus shell and Pike later confessed to the group that it was him. At first everyone agreed that they would hand Pike over to the authorities, but then Pike made an appointment with Dunbar and wanted to kill Mueller. Kendall intervened and a gun battle broke out among the soldiers, in which Dunbar shot soldiers Castro and Nuñez. Kendall was passed out and carried by Dunbar, who was being followed by Mueller. Mueller and Dunbar fought a shootout in which Mueller now also died.

Dunbar contradicts the description and says that Pike had not confessed to murder, but told him that it must have been Mueller, because he was selling drugs from the clinic and wanted to accuse him of the murder. According to him, a phosphorus shell exploded, but Sergeant West was shot. Mueller later shot the tied Pike, which led to a gun battle among the soldiers.

Dunbar explains that the drug supplier is the military doctor Dr. Vilmer. He then admits to drug trafficking and is arrested. Kendall dies the last time he was interviewed at the hospital and writes an "8" down while dying.

Commander Styles tells Hardy that there was once a group called "Division 8" that conducted covert operations; its members later became criminals and disappeared. West had trained some of them.

The arrested Dr. Vilmer mentions that Dunbar is black - the Dunbar they had been questioning all along is white. The supposed soldier Dunbar turns out to be the soldier Pike, who was believed to be dead. The real Pike now admits that they smuggled cocaine into the US in military transport and that Sergeant West recently found out and planned to report it to Colonel Styles by the end of the week. Kendall and Mueller therefore wanted to kill him during the exercise. The soldiers died in the following firefight.

Hardy now confronts Commander Styles that he believes he is the boss of the cocaine ring and that he himself hired Kendall and Mueller to murder West. When Hardy threatens to forward his suspicions to the responsible authorities, Styles first tries to bribe him, then he points a gun at him. Since Osborne has secretly overheard the conversation, she beats him and shoots Styles.

When Hardy says goodbye to Osborne, he tells her not to worry and continues, "We just have to tell the story right". Now she realizes that Pike and Dunbar were using the exact same phrase and that there must be a connection between them.

She pursues him and finds Hardy celebrating together with the living Sergeant West and all the allegedly killed soldiers. They all belong to the secret "Department 8", which actually puts drug cartels out of action on their own. That they are renegades and criminals is just a rumor they have started to intimidate others. Since Osborne has done very well in the investigation, Hardy now offers her to work in the department.

background

The film title Basic refers to the statement of the protagonist Tom Hardy, who means " Murder is basic. No conspiracies, no grand mysteries ... Everyone is capable of murder. “(Murder is easy. No conspiracies, no great mysteries ... Anyone is capable of murder).

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that he had had enough of "awkward" thrillers like Basic that tried to cover up a "stupid" plot and "dumber" characters with improbable twists. The script is not “skillful” enough to make the game the film is playing with the audience worthwhile, especially since the characters are “poorly developed” and the plot does not advance. Berardinelli described the performances of the actors consistently as "uninspired".

“[…] [N] after the first script charades, the viewer suspects that the next track can only be a deception again - great fun for friends of puzzle books, but not conducive to emotional sympathy. [...] However, you can rely on John Travolta, who lost 15 kilos for his role and acts light-footed as he has not for a long time. And his flirt with Connie Nielsen is one of the few plot elements that doesn't fall by the wayside in the story labyrinth - really true. Conclusion: An over-ambitious mirror cabinet from a thriller - but with a smug Travolta. "

- Cinema

“Screenwriter James Vanderbilt [...] wants a lot - too much. [...] Since the film has questionable qualities in terms of content, McTiernan tries to prevent his audience from thinking (because that would be fatal) with a tight staging. In this way, 'Basic' can build up a solid arc of suspense, which in the end collapses. […] In the end, John McTiernan cannot offer more than average. The capers that his story beats are too hair-raising and annoying. "

- movie starts

“Thanks to the good actors, you can forgive some lengths and unbelievable twists in this military thriller from action specialist John McTiernan. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson stood together in front of the camera for the first time since ' Pulp Fiction '. "

- prism

“What was intended as a military thriller is lost in the undergrowth of an impenetrable script that is not stingy with lies, arguments, drug stories, murder and revenge. The numerous flashbacks cannot save the lengthy staging and create additional confusion and perplexity. "

- Lexicon of international film

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Basic - Behind every lie a truth . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , September 2003 (PDF; test number: 94 951 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Basic - Behind every lie a truth . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Film review by James Berardinelli
  4. ↑ Film review on Cinema
  5. ↑ Film reviews on film releases
  6. ↑ Film review on Prisma
  7. ↑ Basic - Behind every lie a truth. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used