Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, July 2, 1994 TAG: 9407040111
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MIKE MAYO CORRESPONDENT
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
That's something of a problem for the producers of ``Blown Away.'' Comparisons to ``Speed'' are inevitable. Where it is a fast-paced and hip West Coast thrill ride, this one is slower, focused more at character with a strong East Coast (Boston) sensibility.
The story revolves around two Irishmen: Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), the maddest mad bomber there ever was, and Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges) a police bomb disposal expert who's ready to retire and marry Katie (Suzy Amis). For reasons that are slowly revealed, Gaerity is trying to kill Dove and the other members of his department.
The basics of the plot are far too familiar, but ``Blown Away'' has two saving graces. First, as he did in ``Under Siege,'' Tommy Lee Jones walks away with the film. He plays Gaerity as a crazed, flamboyant poet of violence. Dove, on the other hand, is a heavy-footed drudge. Second, director Stephen Hopkins (also responsible for the underrated sequel, ``Predator 2'') does some nifty visual things with the mechanics and inner workings of bombs.
That technique serves him well most of the time, but he goes too far toward the end with with an elaborate Rube Goldberg contraption that generates more laughs than suspense. All action pictures are balanced on a fine line between comedy and thrills. ``Blown Away'' never goes too far in either direction, but it is a little unsteady.
by CNB