Blown Away

Add one lunatic bomber, an IRA themed subplot, and more dodgy accents than "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" and you would be left with the basic premise of "Blown Away".

Sadly this film got swamped in the summer blockbuster frenzy and never enjoyed the success of such films as Speed. Do not be perturbed as this film boasts stunts and explosions galore as well as some serious contemplations on the politics of Northern Ireland and a realistic portrayal of life as a bomb disposal expert.

Jeff Bridges stars as Jimmy Dove, a bomb disposal expert who is not adverse to taking risks and has something of a shadowy past. This past come back to haunt him in the form of fruitcake Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones) who takes it upon himself to wage a personal vendetta against Dove by fenerally blasting lots of things to smithereens.

Director Stephen Hopkins obviously had a great time with the pyrotechnics here and all the evidence is up on the screen as we are thrown from one crisis to the next with hair raising pace. Bridges makes a sympathetic hero who is all too aware that his conscience is less than clear and Jones, despite sporting the Irish accent from Hell, convincingly portrays Gaerity as a genuinely unhinged vengeance seeker.

Blown Away is entertainment of the highest order, let the countdown commence!

Caroline Smith.