Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Blown Away Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 6, 2024

Stephen Hopkins' "Blown Away" (1994) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema; archival audio commentary by Stephen Hopkins; production featurette; archival promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

A key element of the story told in Blown Away has always bothered me. It instantly damages its credibility, so I do not understand why it was not altered or dropped.

Jeff Bridges is Jimmy Dove, an explosives expert who makes ends meet with the Boston bomb squad. He is a team player, but his working methods are such that he often disables bombs alone. Most of his colleagues see him as a mad hero but do not know that he battles intense bouts of fear that regularly empty his stomach. It is why Jimmy has started wondering whether it is time to call it quits.

When an incredibly skilled bomber begins terrorizing Boston and then targeting his colleagues, Jimmy puts his retirement plan on hold. While studying the bomber’s modus operandi, Jimmy then quickly concludes that he and his colleagues are facing a genuine master -- a lot like someone he knew decades ago, before he relocated from Belfast to Boston. Soon after, Jimmy is contacted by the master, Ryan Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), an Irish radical who has managed to escape from Castle Gleigh Prison, and told that he is about to discover “a new country called Chaos, and a new government called Anarchy.” Jimmy and his colleagues begin looking for him, but are repeatedly outsmarted and outmaneuvered in a deadly game threatening to bring Boston to its knees.

The catalyst of all the drama in Blown Away is the crucial revelation that Jimmy’s real name is Liam McGivney, and he is a former partner of the man he is trying to get. The revelation comes very early and is repeatedly linked to quick flashbacks of a failed terrorist operation in Northern Ireland. So, the man terrorizing Boston and targeting Jimmy and his colleagues is not a deranged lunatic but consumed by anger avenger who seeks justice. How is this possible? How can a former Irish terrorist enter America illegally and, while using an alias, become the top explosives expert with the Boston bomb squad? It is true that Boston has always been a huge magnet for Irish immigrants, legal and illegal, but how does a reformed Irish terrorist enter America unrecognized and become the go-to man in the local bomb squad? It gets even sillier. To be absolutely certain that he is facing his former partner, Jimmy contacts Interpol and is provided with his complete history, which of course includes detailed information about his terrorist activities in Northern Ireland with, well, Jimmy. I am sorry, but this is too much. A reformed Irish terrorist could have figured out a way to get into America with fake documents and then settle down in Boston, but he would have kept a low profile. He could have started a new life as a bartender in a pub. He could have been a taxi driver. He could have been a janitor at Fenway Park. He would not have tried to get a job with the bomb squad, where later he would stick out like a sore thumb because his knowledge of explosives and working methods are unmatched. Irish terrorists and especially those that were in some ways involved with the IRA were incredibly protective of their past, so the ones that came to America worked very hard to blend in with the locals.

If this major flaw is ignored, Blown Away becomes a good multi-layered action drama with several fine secondary characters. For example, Jimmy is joined by newcomer Anthony “Don’t Call Me Tony” Franklin (Forest Whitaker), who eventually puts two and two together and realizes that the man next to him is someone else, but correctly concludes that he has irreversibly evolved. Jimmy’s new wife, Kate (Suzy Adams), makes the same discovery while becoming a target, too. Jimmy’s best pal, Max O’Bannon (Lloyd Bridges), a wise old-timer with a murky past, is also dragged into the deadly game.

The action material looks great. There are numerous wonderfully lensed very tense situations and several outstanding large-scale explosions. Only the finale is slightly overpolished and perhaps somewhat underwhelming, or at least considering that Blown Away is an R-rated film.

The soundtrack mixes several hits by U2 (“With or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”), Joe Cocker and Bekka Bramlett ("Take Me Home"), The Pogues (“Tuesday Morning”), Aretha Franklin (“You’ll Lose a Good Thing”), and original music by Alan Silvestri.

Blown Away Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Blown Away arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber.

The release introduces an exclusive new 4K restoration sourced from the film's original camera negative. The 4K restoration is also available on 4K Blu-ray. You can see our listing and review of this release here.

I viewed the entire film in native 4K and then spent quite a bit of time testing the 1080p presentation on the Blu-ray. The 4K restoration is a significant upgrade in quality, boasting improvements in all major areas that we scrutinize in our reviews. On my system, these improvements were exceptionally easy to appreciate in brighter and darker footage. Color balance is a lot more convincing as well. All primaries and supporting nuances are dramatically better saturated, a lot healthier, and better balanced. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections, so all visuals have a very attractive organic appearance. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, I did not see any age-related or encoding anomalies to mention in our review. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Blown Away Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The comments below are from our review of the 4K Blu-ray release of Blown Away.

I viewed the entire film with the 5.1 track. I thought the previous Blu-ray release had an excellent 5.1 track, and the 5.1 track on this release performs just as well. Admittedly, Blown Away plenty of action material with big explosions that makes it easy to be impressed by dynamic contrasts and pure intensity, but I think that the music is very nicely mixed as well. The dialog is always clear, clean, and easy to follow.

Blown Away Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentary One - in this archival audio commentary, director Stephen Hopkins discusses in great detail various aspects of the structural construction of Blown Away (why certain locations in Boston were chosen and how they were lensed), the shooting of the massive explosions, the different performances of the leads and how they strengthened the film's identity, the film's critical reception, etc.

• Commentary Two - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Mike Leeder and Arne Venema. The commentators discuss the production history and box office performance of Blown Away, the IRA's activities in the United Kingdom, Boston and its identity and presence in the film, the quality of the action, etc. Also, there are plenty of observations about the careers of Stephen Hopkins and the leads.

• The Making of Blown Away: A Day in the Life of a Bomb Squad - this archival program takes a closer look at the production of Blown Away. Included in it are clips from interviews with Stephen Hopkins, cast members, and real bomb explosive experts. The program is hosted by Lloyd Bridges. In English, not subtitled. (21 min).

• Music Video - presented here is an original music video for Joe Cocker and Bekka Bramlett's "Take Me Home". (5 min).

• Trailer - presented here is a remastered original theatrical trailer for Blown Away. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• TV Spots - presented here are several vintage TV spots for Blown Away. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Blown Away Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While I have always liked Blown Away and kept a copy of it in my library, I have never defended it as a realistic film, which is how it was promoted in the 1990s. Do I think that it should have been a realistic film? Yes, and no. A few tweaks easily could have transformed it into a very serious film that nowadays would have been regarded as one of the best of its kind. On the other hand, it was conceived to be a summer blockbuster and expected to compete with Speed, and these types of big-budget films are almost always allergic to realism. Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release introduces an outstanding new 4K restoration of Blown Away, which is also available on 4K Blu-ray. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.