When a hurricane hits a US Army base on the edge of the Panama Canal, an elite covert operations team of US Army Rangers recruits are on a routine jungle training exercise that goes horribly awry. Only two recruits are rescued, one of which is badly injured, but both have different accounts regarding the fate of their leader, legendary and ruthless Army Ranger Drill Sergeant Nathan West, and the rest of their platoon. Tom Hardy, an ex-army Ranger turned maverick DEA agent is brought in to solve the mystery and uncover what really happened out there.
Direction
McTiernan's last theatrical film before his legal troubles.
Writing
Multiple conflicting flashbacks keep you guessing until the final reveal.
Acting
Giovanni Ribisi's twitchy, unreliable narrator energy.
Director
John McTiernan
John Travolta
DEA Agent Tom Hardy
Connie Nielsen
CPT Julie Osborne
Samuel L. Jackson
Drill Sgt. SFC Nathan West
Tim Daly
COL Bill Styles
Giovanni Ribisi
2LT Levi Kendall
Brian Van Holt
SGT Ray Dunbar
Taye Diggs
Pike
Dash Mihok
SGT Mueller
Cristián de la Fuente
Castro
Roselyn Sánchez
Nuñez
Harry Connick Jr.
Dr. Pete Vilmer
Margaret Travolta
Nurse #1
Nick Loren
Helicopter Pilot
Cliff Fleming
Helicopter Pilot
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was John McTiernan's final theatrical release before his 2006 conviction in the Anthony Pellicano wiretapping scandal.
The title refers to Army BASIC training, but also the 'basic' nature of truth when multiple unreliable narrators collide.
US
