Customer Reviews

Blown Away [VHS]

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Tommy Lee Jones is at his insane and malevolent-genius best as Ryan Garrity, an escaped I.R.A. bomber. He has the film's most chilling line, when he calls Jeff Bridges and says "I've come to create a new country called chaos, and a new government called anarchy."

Great special effects, not in the bombs but the close ups of everyday devices we see (?) Garrity use to make his weapons. When the phone is reconnected, or the oven ignited, we know that a huge conflagration will follow. It is fascinating, and among the more gripping scenes of the movie.

Why the "pros' dog this out is beyond me. Neither it nor Jones are wacky. It is more spellbinding that just the reviews suggest.

The music of U-2 makes a great backdrop to the impending action. Forrest Whittaker and Lloyd Bridges make great supporting cast members.

Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges) is ready to give up his dangerous job on the Boston Bomb Squad and settle down with his girlfriend(Suzy Amis). Shortly after Jimmy accepts a teaching position a mad bomber strikes in Boston. When Jimmy discovers that the mad bomber is his former mentor(Tommy Lee Jones) he is forced back into the life he thought he left behind and his secret past is revealed.

This film takes off with an exciting prison break and never slows down. Jeff Bridges and Tommy Lee Jones are great in thier roles and have an excellent supporting cast including Forest Whitaker, Lloyd Bridges and Suzi Amis. I found this movie very tense and exciting. The only downside is the dvd it self. The disk only includes a theatrical trailer. You can watch the film in widescreen or standard with DD 5.1. All in all its a great movie for any thriller or action junkies like myself and is a steal at this low price.

Even though there's only one 1-star review of this movie, I still saw a number of reviews that say that Blown Away has little or no plot and is mainly just action/explosions. Those reviews couldn't be farther from the truth.

Blown Away teaches a valuable lesson: its ok to put a friendship at stake if its for a good cause. When Jeff Bridges left Belfast, Northern Ireland and changed his name, it was after his former friend, played by Tommy Lee Jones, was put away in Castle Gleigh prison in Northern Ireland. It seems unrealistic to see Jones' character ever breaking out AND finding Bridges, but he uses his own talent with building explosive devices to escape prison and he spots Bridges, whose name changes from Liam McGivney to Jimmy Dove on the screen.

Without spoiling anything, Tommy Lee Jones' character, Ryan Gaerity, does kill friends of Jimmy Dove, and the deaths are followed by very well-crafted scenes that seem to convey the emotion, pain and suffering of Bridges very effectively.

Both Jones and Bridges are well-cast and suitable for their roles. They both portray the Irish descent very believably, especially Jones (who, in the same year, 1994, did a pretty bad job of trying to sound southern in the movie "The Client").

I saw this movie for the first time when I was 13, and at that time i wasn't supposed to be watching it because it was rated R, and now, at 20, I still watch it and consider it one of the most underrated movies ever just because critics think that the high presence of explosions takes away from the plot. Its a shame that it didn't get better reviews, but, Tommy Lee Jones went to Harvard to learn how to act, and he sure did a good job in this movie. He won a few awards as best villain, deservedly. Today, movies like "The Matrix," are bringing in millions for not having a plot. Go for "Blown Away." You'll be glad you did.

I very much enjoyed this film which I consider more of a drama/thriller than a pure action romp. Tommy Lee Jones is very hammy as a sadistic Irish bomber who likes to get things done loudly and violently. Jeff Bridges' Irish accent is terrible but I really enjoyed his character. I consider this one of the few action movies I've seen where I actually care about what happens to the characters and sympathize with their weaknesses. I also appreciate the fact that the movie gives the viewer time to breathe in-between exploding set pieces, (which are all well done). Something isn't going "Boom!" every ten minutes and the violence isn't that bad for an "R" rated movie. Largely an ignored piece of work which is too bad. It deserved better.

The highlight of this pyrotechnically superb thriller is midway in the film when the audience and hero Jeff Bridges thinks a bomb has been placed in his home, to kill his new wife and daughter. The camera pans in on several normal things, with such intensity and ferocity, you're sure the house is gonna blow: a gas stove has never seemed so menacing.
While BLOWN AWAY doesn't have the most original of plots, it has a sincerity and intensity that buoy the movie along, with several expertly filmed sequences. Bridges rushing to save his two friends from an exploding truck; Bridges watching as his uncle (played by Lloyd Bridges) is wired to blow; the climactic explosion on the Dolphin--these are outstanding set pieces, expertly helmed by Stephen Hopkins.
Jeff Bridges is marvelous in his role, ably supported by his aformentioned father; Suzy Amis, Forest Whitaker and the devilishly profane Tommy Lee Jones.
Hold on to your seats and ignore the critics on this one---it delivers explosively!

If you like the "edge of your seat" blowing stuff up movies, then this one is for you! Sometimes you never knew when things would actually blow up because the director would tease you a little. Tommy Lee Jones did a great job with the accent and the "crazy" look that Gaerity had. I'd buy this movie again. :)

WHen I received this DVD it looked real but when we went to watch it the DVD was blank. Nothing on it. Was very upset.

My son-in-law recommended this movie and I have watched it over and over again. Every time I view it the quality and action remain fresh.

Bridges does the best I have ever seen as a crazed good-guy(as in Arlington Rd.). Jones is so much fun to watch as a lunatic. You are put on the edge of your seat the entire movie, trying to figure out where the bombs are. My thumb is up!

Both movies are about bombs and while this is not as popular as Speed I find it much more interesting in terms of character and mood. While I couldn't care less if Keanu got blown away or not.

Most IRA movies made in Hollywood are always critisized for weak plots and the actors not sounding like real Irishmen. While this is generally true (Brad Pitt in the Devil's Own) it certainly isn't for Blown Away. Tommy Lee Jones is quite convincing as a deranged IRA bomber who goes after Jeff Bridges in revenge for betraying him 25 years earlier.

Stephen Hopkins uses his fave cinematographer and composer Peter Levy and Alan Silvestri to bring some visual style and a powerful musical score to accompany the action and explosion scenes. The final encounter between Jones and Bridges is WAY cool. Trust me. It's one of the best showdowns in history.

A cool use of widescreen photography captures a pleasant and eye-pleasing view of Boston. I only ever saw this city in Cheers previously and now it makes wanna visit. This film was overlooked in the summer of 1994 because the audience was too busy with Keanu foiling Dennis Hopper. But Speed was just about a bomber wanting money. Blown Away is a more personal, character-driven film and definitely the superior of the two.

The DVD is in great looking 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and has an incredible Dolby 5.1 soundtrack. Keep an eye on the bricks in your house. The might just crumble!