Movie Type: Action Thriller, Police Detective Film
Themes: Double Life, Haunted By the Past, Race Against Time
Main Cast: Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Lloyd Bridges, Forest Whitaker, Suzy Amis
Release Year: 1994
Country: US
Run Time: 121 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Opening within one month from each other in 1994, Blown Away invited many comparisons to Speed. Both are pyrotechnical displays involving mad bombers and a multitude of flying building debris and body parts. The cop and the mad bomber in this one are Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges), a veteran of the Boston Bomb Squad planning to retire from the force, and Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), a revenge-crazed explosives expert who has recently escaped from a detention center in Northern Ireland. It seems that Gaerity is out to get Jimmy and has been nursing his grudge for the past twenty years. Back in his Irish past, Jimmy, then known as Liam, was a student of Gaerity, who constructed bombing devices for the IRA. But when Gaerity's bombing plans included the killing of innocent civilians, Liam opposed him and thwarted his efforts. As a result, Liam escaped to the United States to become Jimmy, and Gaerity was arrested and sent to prison. But now that Gaerity is out of jail, he is traveling to Boston to wreak havoc upon the city in revenge for what Jimmy has done to him. His plan is to create so many bombings in Boston that the bomb squad's strength will be depleted, allowing him to get to Jimmy and his family. The goal? Blowing up Jimmy's wife (Suzy Amis) and stepdaughter at a Boston Pops concert. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
Caitlin Clarke - Rita; Stephi Lineburg - Lizzy; John Finn - Capt. Roarke; Christofer de Oni - Cortez; Loyd Catlett - Bama; Brendan Burns - Kevin; Cuba Gooding, Jr.; Ken Kerman - Prison Guard; Larry Reynolds - Wedding Band; Ruben Santiago-Hudson - Blanket; Lucinda Weist - Nancy; Josh McLaglen - Prison Guard; Allison Cowitt; Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc - Helicopter Pilot; John Farrell - Wedding Band
Credit
Steve Cooper - Art Director, Lawrence Hubbs - Art Director, M. Jay Roach - Associate Producer, Joe Batteer - Associate Producer, Allison Cowitt - Casting, Mike Fenton - Casting, Lt. Bob Molloy - Consultant/advisor, Herb Williams - Consultant/advisor, Dean O'Brien - Co-producer, Joe Tompkins - Costume Designer, Josh McLaglen - First Assistant Director, Stephen Hopkins - Director, Tim Wellburn - Editor, Lloyd Segan - Executive Producer, Alan Silvestri - Composer (Music Score), Edouard Henriques III - Makeup, John Graysmark - Production Designer, Dean O'Brien - Production Designer, Peter Levy - Cinematographer, Pen Densham - Producer, Richard Barton Lewis - Producer, John Watson - Producer, Peg Cummings - Set Designer, Clay Pinney - Special Effects, Thomas D. Causey - Sound/Sound Designer, Mike Johnson - Stunts, M. Jay Roach - Screen Story, M. Jay Roach - Screenwriter, Joe Batteer - Screenwriter, John Rice - Screenwriter, Kevin Bartnof - Foley Artist, Robert "Bobby Z" Zajonc - Pilot, Rice Batteer - Short Story Author
Lt. Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges) is a veteran disposal technician on the Boston Policebomb squad, who irritates his captain, partner and everyone else when he plays hero and disarms dangerous explosives. But nobody, except for his uncle Max (Lloyd Bridges), knows of Jimmy's dark past. Originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jimmy's actual name is Liam McGivney. He had been friends and partners with Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), who, unbeknownst to Jimmy/Liam, was a freelance terrorist. After a botched attempt to stop one of Gaerity's bombs led to the bomber's imprisonment and the death of his girlfriend (Gaerity's sister), Jimmy/Liam fled to Boston. When Gaerity escapes (also fleeing to Boston), he finds Jimmy, who is semi-retired but working as an instructor, and starts taunting his old protegé with threats and his homemade explosives. With his family and friends in danger, Jimmy reveals his secret to his wife Kate (Suzy Amis) and returns to action to hunt for Gaerity, while fellow officer Anthony Franklin (Forest Whitaker) investigates Jimmy, suspecting his and Gaerity's connection.
The Whitest Kids U Know has a sketch where Trevor believes Zack is Forest Whitaker after watching Blown Away and Zack is confused about Trevor, who later admits he has a disease where he sees "everyone is Forest Whitaker".
