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Not really, no. This film is all smoke and mirrors, red herrings and unreliable memories. And when in the end we finally get to the bottom of it, we realise that the filmmakers are just paying with us all along. There is no story here. Surely Vanderbilt's script must have originally been more substantial to attract this talented cast and crew. They all do adept work; McTiernan keeps it looking interesting, with lots of gunfire, helicopters and incessant wind and rain (there's a hurricane involved) so everything is noisy and wet ... and increasingly blood-soaked. But there's never even the slightest attempt to play on the Rashomon-like conflicting accounts idea, and the overcomplicated plot falls to pieces on even the slightest examination. It just makes no sense at all when you finally get the last puzzle piece. And they even have the nerve to add witty romantic banter between Travolta and Nielsen, who are very good, considering how terrible the rest of the film is.
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dir John McTiernan scr James Vanderbilt with John Travolta, Connie Nielsen, Samuel L Jackson, Timothy Daly, Giovanni Ribisi, Brian Van Holt, Harry Connick Jr, Taye Diggs, Dash Mihok, Roselyn Sanchez, Cristian de la Fuente, Steven Maye release US 28.Mar.03; UK 20.Jun.03 Intermedia 03/US 1h38 Seductive. Tom Hardy (Travolta) lures deep secrets out of his interviewee ... but can he trust him? | |||||
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