Basic

"Deception is their most dangerous weapon."

2003 1h 38m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

🥫

21%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.4

IMDB

★6.5TMDB · 1,183🥫21%Rotten Tomatoes●34Metacritic★6.4IMDB · 68,850

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Deception is their most dangerous weapon.”

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Cast

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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: James Vanderbilt
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 86% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

215+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Steve Mason. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Klaus Badelt. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor George Folsey Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John McTiernan directs. Steve Mason behind the camera. Klaus Badelt scores. George Folsey Jr. cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $50M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Earned back only 86% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 23 years ago.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5215+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
6Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Steve Mason. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
7Original score by Klaus Badelt. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
8Editor George Folsey Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
9John Travolta and Connie Nielsen and Samuel L. Jackson carry the top of the cast.
10Marketing tagline: "Deception is their most dangerous weapon.".
11IMDB entry: tt0264395 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
12Classified under 14 themes, including "hurricane", "recruit", "panama", "covert operation".