It's a much less preposterous movie than John Woo's Face/Off, despite both films sharing John Travolta in maniac mode. Here, Travolta is a rogue airforce pilot who plans to steal 2 nukes and sell them back to Washington for ransom, while a hot looking Christian Slater, Travolta's former partner, tries to stop him, with the aid of Samantha Mathis' park ranger. Broken Arrow has a much simpler plot than Face/Off for a start! There's a thread with a suit from Washington flying in to Utah, where the nuke was stolen, but it never really goes anywhere and doesn't get a resolution, other than that this is a fantastic chase movie with MASSIVE explosions and excellent fight scenes.This is another film that harks back to a simpler time (the 90's!) in movies when bad guys shot anyone they liked and there was no gore. Unrealistic, but easier to watch than the splatter-fests of today. Broken Arrow would hardly win any points for realism anyway. Slater and Travolta are great in the lead roles, and Samantha Mathis makes an impression as the token woman (actually, I don't recall any other female cast members... Hmmm), but in a role that doesn't sexualise the character or turn her into a quivering annoyance to Slater's hero - she's actually very competant, and can kick ass and match wits with Travolta's bad guy as much as Slater can. Now there's something you wouldn't expect from a testosterone packed movie like this!
The action is great throughout, but the film really kicks up a gear in the last 20 mins or so when the nukes are being moved by train through some gorgeously photographed locations (and Woo's all about the pretty images - he never turns down a chance to use slo mo - this is pretty much action porn) and the action is nearly all train-bound. This makes for great punch ups, shoot outs, and a final explosion that all had me gasping and cringing as if I could feel ever blow or close call. Broken Arrow may not be high art, but it is entertaining.
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