Review of Broken Arrow

Introduction

I`ve been pondering buying Broken Arrow on DVD for a while, having owned it on VHS after renting out a copy years ago and not expecting much but thoroughly enjoying the film.

I`m a big John Woo fan, and despite this film getting a mixed reception, it`s very much in his style - plenty of gunfire, fights and gratuitous slow motion.

The emphasis is very much on entertainment and in that respect it delivers.

Video

A mixed bag for video. Thoroughout the opening sequence and start of the film in the plane, the video is stunning with a great deal of detail and clarity. I did find however, that some of the panned shots out in Utah were a bit grainy and there seemed to be some dirt on the print. In general however the quality is good.

There are plenty of effects and gunfire, all of which looks good and the scenery is spectacular! The nuclear explosion is particularly well done.

Audio

The 5.1 audio mix is excellent throughout. There are plenty of flyovers, explosions, bullets etc to give all the channels including subwoofer a good workout.

There`s also the obligatory recurring action film "twangy" chords to round things off nicely.

Features

A trailer and scene access. Wow :)

Conclusion

Overall, I really enjoyed this film...typical action fare, and what`s really great is that there is no let up in the pace for the whole film. There are plenty of setpiece action scenes, some humour and Travolta`s attidude is fantastic!

The cast is good and all involved play their parts well, despite a pretty thin plot.

Sound is very good and video generally good apart from a few scenes. The feature count is abysmal, but this is a film that I enjoy enough by itself to do without them.

And crucially, it also represents very good value for money as I got it as part of a "3 for £33" offer in Virgin. At £11 this is a real bargain!