# Broken Arrow (1996 film)
**Broken Arrow** is a 1996 American action thriller directed by [John Woo](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-woo) and written by [Graham Yost](https://www.edgepedia.org/graham-yost), in which a traitorous Air Force major steals two nuclear warheads from a Stealth bomber and his co-pilot, aided by a park ranger, tries to stop him. It stars [John Travolta](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-travolta), Christian Slater, and Samantha Mathis, and was released wide on February 9, 1996 by 20th Century Fox.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) • [2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | February 9, 1996 (wide), 20th Century Fox; R rating; 108 minutes[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) |
| Director / writer | John Woo; screenplay by Graham Yost[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) |
| Lead cast | John Travolta (Maj. Vic Deakins), Christian Slater (Capt. Riley Hale), Samantha Mathis (Terry Carmichael)[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow) |
| Box office | $70,645,997 domestic, $77,700,000 international, $148,345,997 worldwide against a $65,000,000 production budget[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) |
| Opening weekend | $15,583,510 at 2,388 theaters, the largest debut of 1996 to that date[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) • [4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/02/12/Broken-Arrow-hits-box-office-bulls-eye/7744824101200/) |
| Critical scores | 53% Tomatometer (34 reviews) and 44% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; Metascore 61 on Metacritic (21 reviews)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e) |
| Music | Score by Hans Zimmer[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Air Force pilots Vic Deakins (John Travolta) and Riley Hale ([Christian Slater](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-slater)) fly an overnight top-secret mission carrying two nuclear weapons aboard their Stealth bomber. In the air, Deakins changes the plan: he attempts to kill Hale, crash-lands the bomber in [Death Valley](https://www.edgepedia.org/death-valley), and steals the warheads to blackmail the United States government by demanding compensation for their return.[12](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/02/19/1996-02-19-097-tny-cards-000150661) Hale survives the crash and joins park ranger Terry Carmichael ([Samantha Mathis](https://www.edgepedia.org/samantha-mathis)) to thwart the scheme.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow) • [6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/broken-arrow)
The pursuit runs through the Western desert by car, helicopter, mine shaft, and finally a runaway train, and includes the underground detonation of one of the warheads down a mine shaft.[6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/broken-arrow) • [7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/15/broken-arrow-no-target-in-sight/7370efdb-bc25-4ffc-a09e-c7591d18016a/) The film's title takes its name from the military term for a stolen or missing nuclear weapon.[7](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/15/broken-arrow-no-target-in-sight/7370efdb-bc25-4ffc-a09e-c7591d18016a/)
## Production
John Woo, the Hong Kong director whose films *The Killer* and *Hard-Boiled* had earned him a cult following in the United States, made *Broken Arrow* as his second American film after *Hard Target* (1993), and his first big-budget Hollywood production.[6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/broken-arrow) • [8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/broken-arrow-1996) The film re-teamed 20th Century Fox, screenwriter Graham Yost, and producer [Mark Gordon](https://www.edgepedia.org/mark-gordon), who had made the 1994 hit *Speed* together; producer Gordon attributed the strong opening partly to moving the release date away from the holiday season.[9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-12-ca-34955-story.html)
Behind the camera, Peter Levy was the cinematographer, Holger Gross the production designer, and John Wright, Steve Mirkovich, and Joe Hutshing the editors; [Hans Zimmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/hans-zimmer) composed the score. Producers were Terence Chang, Mark Gordon, and Bill Badalato.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) The supporting cast included [Delroy Lindo](https://www.edgepedia.org/delroy-lindo) as Col. Max Wilkins, Bob Gunton as Pritchett, and [Frank Whaley](https://www.edgepedia.org/frank-whaley) as Giles Prentice.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006) • [5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e)
## Box office
**Opening.** The film opened at number one with $15,583,510 from 2,388 theaters over the February 9 to 11 weekend, the largest debut so far in 1996 and, according to preliminary figures reported by the Los Angeles Times, a record for a three-day February weekend.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) • [4](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/02/12/Broken-Arrow-hits-box-office-bulls-eye/7744824101200/) • [9](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-12-ca-34955-story.html) It held first place the following weekend, which included the four-day Presidents Day holiday period, with $13,459,777.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) • [10](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-21-ca-38314-story.html)
**Run.** The film spent 18 weeks in release, peaking at 2,392 theaters, and finished with $70,645,997 domestically and $77,700,000 internationally, for a worldwide total of $148,345,997, about 2.3 times its $65,000,000 production budget. The opening weekend accounted for 22.1% of the domestic total, and the domestic share of the worldwide gross was 47.6%.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29) Fox Home Entertainment released it on video on January 21, 1997.[2](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29)
## Reception
Critical response was mixed. On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 53% Tomatometer from 34 reviews and a 44% audience score; the site's critics consensus says Woo "adds pyrotechnic glaze to John Travolta's hammy performance" in a "dispiritingly disposable" English-language entry for the director.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow) Metacritic assigned a Metascore of 61, labeled generally favorable, based on 21 critic reviews.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e)
Reviewers split over Woo's staging versus the script. Roger Ebert of the [Chicago Sun-Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/chicago-sun-times) gave the film two stars, calling it a slow, talky thriller whose premise is promising but never taken seriously, and arguing that Travolta was miscast as a nuclear terrorist.[8](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/broken-arrow-1996) Janet Maslin of The New York Times scored it 70, writing that Woo "orchestrates his giddy, daring stunts on a newly spectacular level."[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e) Mike Clark of USA Today gave three stars for Woo's action instincts but called the film a *Speed* derivative; Rita Kempley of The Washington Post called it a "deafening, brain-deadening action thriller" lacking the character complexity of Woo's Hong Kong work.[5](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e) • [11](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/09/broken-arrow-a-dud-of-a-nuclear-bomb/ccf8155b-476a-4ba5-94ad-fa540424b777/) The American Film Institute's summary judged that Woo "amply displays the expertise with action sequences" despite the script's implausibilities.[6](https://watch.afi.com/movie/broken-arrow)
## References
1. [Broken Arrow (1996), AFI Catalog of Feature Films](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/60006)
2. [Broken Arrow (1996) - Box Office and Financial Information, The Numbers](https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Broken-Arrow-%281996%29)
3. [Broken Arrow, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1069241-broken_arrow)
4. [Broken Arrow hits box office bull's eye, UPI Archives (February 12, 1996)](https://www.upi.com/Archives/1996/02/12/Broken-Arrow-hits-box-office-bulls-eye/7744824101200/)
5. [Broken Arrow Reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/broken-arrow/?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa0e)
6. [Broken Arrow, American Film Institute (watch.afi.com)](https://watch.afi.com/movie/broken-arrow)
7. [Broken Arrow: No Target in Sight, The Washington Post (February 14, 1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/15/broken-arrow-no-target-in-sight/7370efdb-bc25-4ffc-a09e-c7591d18016a/)
8. [Broken Arrow movie review, Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times (February 9, 1996)](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/broken-arrow-1996)
9. [Broken Arrow Hits New High Mark at Box Office, Los Angeles Times (February 12, 1996)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-12-ca-34955-story.html)
10. [Weekend Box Office: It's a Bull's-Eye for Broken Arrow, Los Angeles Times (February 21, 1996)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-02-21-ca-38314-story.html)
11. [Broken Arrow: A Dud of a Nuclear Bomb, The Washington Post (February 8, 1996)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/02/09/broken-arrow-a-dud-of-a-nuclear-bomb/ccf8155b-476a-4ba5-94ad-fa540424b777/)
12. [Pulp Fission](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1996/02/19/1996-02-19-097-tny-cards-000150661)
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