Broken Arrow

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Broken Arrow

R

1996

1h 48m

Action

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Popcornmeter

53%

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34 Reviews

44%

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100,000+ Ratings

Air Force pilots Vic Deakins (John Travolta) and Riley Hale (Christian Slater) are sent on an overnight top-secret mission with two nuclear weapons aboard their aircraft. But, after they are in the air, Deakins changes the plan. He attempts to kill Hale and then steals the weapons with the intent of selling them to terrorists. However, Hale survives the crash and meets up with park ranger Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis). Together, Hale and Terry attempt to thwart Deakins' plan.

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Critics Consensus

John Woo adds pyrotechnic glaze to John Travolta's hammy performance, but fans may find Broken Arrow to be a dispiritingly disposable English-language entry for the action auteur.

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Broken Arrow is beautifully crafted, mindless entertainment–nothing more, but also nothing less.

Jun 7, 2022

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

This is a promising premise, but somehow Broken Arrow never really sinks in its teeth and takes it seriously. Consider, for example, the scene where we discover Travolta is not what he seems. He turns to Slater in the cockpit and... narrows his eyes.

Rated: 2/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Mike Clark

USA Today

Directed with the keen action instincts Woo brought to The Killer, Hard-Boiled and other cult causes from his career in Hong Kong.

Rated: 3/4

Jan 1, 2000

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Robin Holabird

KUNR (Reno, NV)

The movie Broken Arrow remains rentable, while the region's monolithic cliffs still overwhelm the senses.

Jul 23, 2021

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Mike Massie

Gone With The Twins

Despite a lot of mayhem taking place on screen, the only memorable component of this ramshackle actioner is Hans Zimmer's score.

Rated: 2/10

Sep 11, 2020

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

An inane thriller for those with a penchant for films that nuke themselves on purpose.

Rated: C

Aug 8, 2018

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YoYo

How this is rated below Face/Off is beyond me…

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/29/25

Full Review

Noel L

What a suspenseful action thriller that keeps you on your toes for a majority of the film. Definitely one of John Woo's better American action movies

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

09/13/25

Full Review

Andrew P.

Love this film! Seen it numerous times over the years! Love the banter between the cast throughout the film and the action scenes are all very well staged and executed. Deserves a 4K release from a label that cares about the film (can’t trust Disney to do the film justice).

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

08/21/25

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Ben S.

A great 90s Woo effort. Slater and Travolta have fun cat & mouse chemistry and the action delivers. Great Hans Zimmer under appreciated score too. Not sure why this one slips under the radar for many, but it’s a 90s action gem not to be missed.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/10/25

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Farah R

Mindless action stunts and over-the-top acting are the main components of Broken Arrow, so be prepared to overlook its flaws in favor of some silly fun.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/30/25

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Daniel M

It was great watching this after so many years. Not the greatest movie, but it passed the time well.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

05/03/25

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John Woo

Director

John Travolta

Maj. Vic Deakins

Christian Slater

Capt. Riley Hale

Samantha Mathis

Terry Carmichael

Delroy Lindo

Col. Max Wilkins

Bob Gunton

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Synopsis

Air Force pilots Vic Deakins (John Travolta) and Riley Hale (Christian Slater) are sent on an overnight top-secret mission with two nuclear weapons aboard their aircraft. But, after they are in the air, Deakins changes the plan. He attempts to kill Hale and then steals the weapons with the intent of selling them to terrorists. However, Hale survives the crash and meets up with park ranger Terry Carmichael (Samantha Mathis). Together, Hale and Terry attempt to thwart Deakins' plan.

Director: John Woo
Producer: Mark Gordon, Bill Badalato, Terence Chang
Screenwriter: Graham Yost
Distributor: Fox, 20th Century Fox
Production Co: 20th Century Fox, WCG Entertainment Productions, Mark Gordon Productions
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Feb 9, 1996, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $70.6M
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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