John Travolta's Intense '90s Action Movie With Delroy Lindo Is A Prime Video Gem

20th Century Fox

Like galore American cinephiles successful nan precocious 1980s, I perked up erstwhile I caught upwind of a hyper-violent Hong Kong action movie that, per galore critics, put Hollywood's bullet-whizzing, bone-crunching output to shame. The buzz initially kicked up astatine nan 1989 Toronto Film Festival, and deed a fever transportation astatine Sundance and Cannes. The critics were not wholly successful agreement, but nan reviews that expressed outrage complete nan movie's unremitting bloodletting only made maine want to spot it more.

John Woo's "The Killer" yet deed United States video stores successful 1992, and it acold exceeded my expectations. Whereas Sam Peckinpah's gunfights were praised arsenic balletic, Woo's characters danced for illustration Gene Kelly aliases Fred Astaire (two very different styles that Woo deftly wedded). I watched "The Killer" countless times pinch my action-crazed friends, and reached a caller level of high-caliber ecstasy pinch his adjacent movie, the gay-coded "Hard Boiled." With conscionable 2 films, Woo had go a filmmaking deity to me. I couldn't hold for his adjacent ballistic masterpiece.

I was some stoked for and a tad worried astir "Hard Target." As Woo's first American feature, location was morganatic interest that Hollywood would reside down his trademark freneticism and utmost violence. While Woo did person to reside down nan grisly stuff, his artistic remained intact. Most importantly, nan movie was a container agency hit, which meant he'd get to make different workplace flick if he truthful chose.

Woo decided to hook up pinch 20th Century Fox for "Broken Arrow," a big-budget actioner starring John Travolta arsenic a rogue Air Force serviceman who, pinch his traitorous associates, plans to blackmail nan United States authorities by threatening to detonate a stolen atomic warhead. It's a blast of a movie that features a slayer ensemble formed headed up by nan awesome Delroy Lindo.

20th Century Fox

Working from a screenplay by Graham Yost ("Speed"), Woo gets to grow his action palette pinch car chases, chopper combat, and train group pieces. Obviously, there's plentifulness of gunplay, too, but nan head seems astir enthused to orchestrate nan kinds of wildly costly sequences pulled disconnected pinch explosive aplomb by James Cameron, Tony Scott, and John McTiernan. Unsurprisingly, Woo is each spot their equal.

Woo is besides blessed pinch a afloat committed Travolta, who brings an operatic flourish to his portrayal of a narcissistic, wholly off-his-rocker subject brilliant (it's 1 of his champion performances). Christian Slater is stranded successful nan thankless domiciled of his good-guy foil, but fans of "Pump Up nan Volume" will beryllium thrilled to spot him erstwhile again onslaught up crazy chemistry pinch nan ever-underrated Samantha Mathis.

And past there's Delroy Lindo, who plays nan wholly sane Air Force colonel tasked pinch taking retired Travolta and retrieving nan stolen atomic warhead (aka "broken arrow"). Lindo, who'd strung together a bid of spectacular performances successful "Malcolm X," "Crooklyn," "Clockers" (possibly his champion activity to date), and "Get Shorty," is perfectly formed arsenic a proficient serviceman scrambling to enactment 1 measurement up of Travolta's chaotic card.

"Broken Arrow" is simply a vintage 1990s Hollywood action movie that zips done its 108-minute runtime. It's not hyper-violent, but there's much than capable Woo present to group it apart. And convey deity it was a hit, because, if it wasn't, we would've been tragically deprived of Woo's Hollywood masterpiece "Face/Off."