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Avg. Critic Score: 34 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Not for kids 17 and under
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    The teasing tale is told with such dispatch it will carry willing audiences along; genre staples of action, macho attitude and corruption through the ranks are delivered intact. Read full review

  • 50
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    Just not worth revisiting, unless one wants to tie one's brain into a knot for no discernible reward. Read full review

  • 50
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    Their (Travolta/Jackson) teamwork was classic. Basic breaks up the team. What's up with that? Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Desson Thomson

    Entertainment more suitable for the living room than the movie theater. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kenneth Turan

    So unashamedly confusing, so intent on piling twist upon twist upon twist, it makes your head hurt just trying to figure out what's happened. Read full review

  • 50
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    The tepid result is like "Courage Under Fire" without the compelling Meg Ryan angle, or Travolta's 1999 "The General's Daughter" without the sexual squalor. It all feels a little moldy. Read full review

  • 30
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    They made a movie without one basic ingredient: the story. Read full review

  • 25
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    With style and energy from the actors, with every sign of self-confidence from the director, with pictures that were in focus and dialogue that you could hear, the movie descended into a morass of narrative quicksand. By the end, I wanted to do cruel and vicious things to the screenplay. Read full review

  • 25
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    Another depressingly empty action thriller. Read full review

  • 20
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    You might be tempted to say, "Huh?" Or, if you're in the theater, to leave. But wait -- there's less. Read full review

View more reviews for Basic on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Not for kids 17 and under Basically bad and sorry attempt at a thriller.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this is a very violent movie with many character deaths. Characters smoke (one who gave up smoking years earlier takes a cigarette to relieve stress). Characters have alcohol and drug abuse problems and some characters deal in illegal pharmaceuticals and cocaine. Characters use very strong language.
  • Families can talk about the various forms of betrayal and loyalty depicted in this film.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Shooting, grenades, characters killed Intense peril
  • sex false3 Sex: Sexual references
  • language false5 Language: Very strong language
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false5 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking, smoking, drug and alcohol abuse, drug dealing
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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