Nell Minow Common Sense Media Sep 30, 2010 1/5

Basically bad and sorry attempt at a thriller.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader Mar 31, 2010

Director John McTiernan does a swell job with James Vanderbilt's sneaky script in keeping us guessing.

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Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed Apr 29, 2009

A poor effort with a confusing story and ridiculous plot twist after plot twist.

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Jim Lane Sacramento News & Review Aug 7, 2008 1/5

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Tony Medley tonymedley.com Oct 7, 2004 2/10

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Matt Kelemen Las Vegas CityLife Apr 21, 2004

McTiernan's bitten off way more than he could chew, spicing up the Usual Suspects approach with a dash of Rashomon and a little of help from A Few Good Men.

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Greg Maki Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) Jan 6, 2004 0/4

Basic is one of those rare movies without even a single redeeming quality.

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Daniel M. Kimmel Worcester Telegram & Gazette Jan 4, 2004 2/5

The problem is that we've been given nothing to make us care for any of these people, so when the mysteries unravel there's nothing in the answers that hit us at a gut level.

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Carol Cling Las Vegas Review-Journal Nov 11, 2003 C-

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Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Oct 14, 2003 3/5

A estrutura narrativa (obviamente inspirada em Rashomon) interessante, mas a necessidade de criar reviravoltas surpreendentes praticamente destri o filme, j que, ao final da projeo, nada mais faz sentido.

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Prairie Miller Long Island Press Sep 16, 2003

Best described as military noir, Basic reunites John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in a kind of Pulp Fiction with rain and fatigues, plus a chaser of Rashomon on the side.

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Andrew Manning Radio Free Entertainment Sep 9, 2003 6/10

Samuel L. Jackson's performance is the main reason to watch this ultimately disappointing mystery that thrives on audience deception and mass confusion.

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Ian Mantgani UK Critic Jul 8, 2003 1/4

The final parts of this movie are the kind that you'd swear were slapped on by the studio, until you realise the whole story must have been built around them.

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Matthew Turner ViewLondon Jun 21, 2003 1/5

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Sara Michelle Fetters MovieFreak.com Jun 19, 2003 2/4

Granted, it's not Rollerball, and that in itself could be considered a small blessing. Unfortunately, it's only a small one, but I guess I shouldn't be too picky.

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Jamie Russell BBC.com Jun 3, 2003 2/5

Fumbling the setup, the Die Hard helmer quickly loses his grip on the material, turning Basic into little more than a mechanical exercise in plotting.

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Marty Mapes Movie Habit May 18, 2003 2/4

I had to take on faith that the plot could, theoretically, be made sense of

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Oz eFilmCritic.com May 15, 2003 1.5/5

Everyone involved just watched their stock price drop 79%.

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Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette May 5, 2003 C

Noisy, dark and headache-inducing, John McTiernan's Basic is one of those brain-twisting legal thrillers that can only be enjoyed by those determined not to worry about things like consistent internal logic

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Spence D. IGN Apr 30, 2003 2.5/5

Basic is one of those films that thinks itself clever in its use of confusion, when in reality it's just confusing. Sound confusing? Yeah, thought so.

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