Artistic note: 
(3.5/5)
Synopsis
Shaken by a series of unprecedented attacks, the city of Boston recalls the deminer Jimmy Dove, who is about to leave his post, to the field. The first elements reveal that the terrorist he has to face is more skilled and vicious than all those he has had to face. This formidable adversary is no stranger and comes from a past that Jimmy would rather forget. Their confrontation is now inevitable…
• Original title: Blown Away
• Media tested: Blu-ray
• Genre: action, detective
• Year: 1994
• Director: Stepen Hopkins
• Cast: Jeff Bridges, Tommy Lee Jones, Suzy Amis, Lloyd Bridges, Forest Whitaker, Stephi Lineburg, John Finn, Caitlin Clarke
• Duration: 2 h 00 min 41
• Video format: 16:9
• Cinema format: 2.35/1
• Subtitling: French
• Soundtracks: DTS-HD MA 5.1 English, French
• Bonuses: The Underrated Blockbuster by Philippe Guedj, journalist at Point Pop (2022, 21 min 27) – sequence analysis by Philippe Guedj (2022, 6 min 34) – Making of (VOST, 1994, 20 min 47) – original trailer (VOST, 1 min 32) – three editor trailers
• Publisher: L’Atelier d’Images
Art commentary
Blown Away (literally “blown”) is a 1994 thriller film directed by British-Australian filmmaker Stephen Hopkins. Filmed largely in Boston, this hectic action film is interpreted by a starry cast: Lloyd Bridges (Max O’Bannon) and his real son Jeff Bridges (James Dove), by Tommy Lee Jones (Ryan Gaerity), Forrest Whitaker (Anthony Franklin) and Suzy Amis (Kate Dove). Filmed in the midst of the Irish conflict, Blown Away focuses on the particular police environment of demining by opposing two Irishmen haunted by their past: James Dove, alias Liam McGivney, an exceptional deminer and Ryan Gaerity, a terrorist genius in explosives. If the subject of the plot fits into the political context of the time (see bonus), this remarkable thriller for its sense of action, the accuracy of its writing and the finesse of its narration suffered unfairly, on its release, relative competition on a related subject, Speed (1994) by Jean DeBont. Yet the game of cat and mouse between the Machiavellian and vengeful bomber and the handsome deminer does not lack spice, skilfully distilling the rising anxiety of a deaf and seemingly inescapable threat. With each new bomb, the tension rises a notch and is illustrated on the screen by spectacular explosions and scenes of anthology, in particular when the characters of Anthony Franklin and Max O’Bannon are on the hot seat. with the virtual certainty of ending up volatilized… Fans of muscular action should be impressed by certain sequences, including the final scene, with devastating explosions. Even if the bombs made by the solitary Irish psychopath, superbly embodied by Tommy Lee Jones, may seem a bit too sophisticated, the script has managed to avoid the inconsistencies and implausibilities that the theme of the film could cause. On the minesweeper side, Jeff Bridges, with a very natural game, knows how to give thickness to his character, casual on the surface but undermined by a past that he cannot evacuate, who knows how to be attentive to his family and his colleagues. Blown Away is an excellent thriller, well directed and well acted, which deserves to be rediscovered.
Technical Comment
Image : HD copy, excellent definition and sharpness on close-ups, fine and regular film texture (shooting in Super 35 with Panavision cameras, Master Format 2K), clean image, superb contrast rendering, very bright image with strong blacks, warm color grading shimmering, dazzling colorimetry with vivid hues (orange-red explosions), saturated tones
His : English mix 5.1, dialogues having posed problems for the “Irish” accentuation but finally quite clear and balanced, superb dynamics on the atmospheres and the action (explosions) and which increases the brilliant score (with choirs) by Alan Silvestri and additional music (opening 1812, U2, etc.), impressive immersive spatialization with excellent distribution of effects on all surrounds, very effective LFE (explosions); VF 5.1, clear dialogues, neat dubbing, dynamics and spatialization close to the original version
Our opinion
Image : (4/5)
Sound mixes: 
(4/5)
Bonuses: (3/5)
Packaging: (3/5)
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