The Mind-Bending Plot Of Samuel L. Jackson And John Travolta's Basic Explained

Few might remember John McTiernan's 2003 military thriller "Basic," a film that was, at the time, touted as a grand reunion between "Pulp Fiction" stars John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson. Because of its star power, "Basic" cost $50 million to make, but raked in a paltry $43 million at the box office. It currently sits at a 21% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and I recall reading Roger Ebert's scathing one-star review with a wince; Ebert said that "Basic" was "was not a film that could be understood," stating that it was so twisty and full of trickery that is might be better called a "jerk-around movie." To elucidate on Ebert's point, the plot description for "Basic" on Wikipedia runs eleven paragraphs. The film is only 98 minutes long.

The plot can, however, be explained (kind of), and we shall now, dear readers, endeavor to unpack this forgotten 2003 thriller for all future generations. In so doing, we may achieve a brief moment of catharsis. Or perhaps we'll merely be reminiscing about the cruddy cinema of the early 2000s, when there were scads of forgettably terse military dramas that most audiences don't remember. 

The plot of "Basic" is more or less a "Rashomon" story set against the backdrop of a military training exercise in Panama. A team of Army Rangers, led by the ballbusting Sergeant Nathan West (Samuel L. Jackson) trek out into the woods during a storm for their training, with only a few of them returning. The survivors are the grievously wounded Kendall (Giovanni Ribisi) and the tight-lipped Dunbar (Brian Van Holt) who murdered his superior officer Mueller (Dash Mihok) in self-defense. 

The story only gets more twisted from here, so hang on tight.

Dunbar refuses to speak to the tough-as-nail investigating officer, Captain Osborne (Connie Nielsen), insisting that he talk to former Army Ranger, current alcoholic, and now a DEA Agent, Tom Hardy (John Travolta). Yes, it is a little confusing to the modern eye that Jackson's and Travolta's characters are named Nathan West and Tom Hardy, but the makers of "Basic" couldn't have known that actors with those names would become popular decades later. 

Revenge for abuse?

The story of what happened in the woods changes throughout "Basic." A soldier named Pike (Taye Diggs) claims that West was an abusive sergeant, and it looks a lot like Pike staged several woodsy murders as revenge. When Kendall (the Ribisi character) discovered the plan and asked Pike to turn himself him, it instigated a firefight that took the lives of other soldiers. Kendall was also a subject of West's abuse, based on the fact that Kendall was a closeted gay man and West was a bigot.

A drug deal gone wrong?

According to Dunbar (the Van Holt character), Kendall was lying about the murders, pointing out that Mueller (the Mihok character) was sneaking around selling military grade drugs. Dunbar said that West found out about Mueller's drug dealing, and that Mueller killed West to cover up his crime. "Basic" at least shows some accountability by having the Nielsen character arrest the doctor who was responsible for supplying contraband prescription drugs to Mueller. 

The conspiracy of Section 8?

Kendall is then murdered unexpectedly, likely by poison. Musical sting. As he dies, he draws a #8 in his own vomited-up blood. This alludes to a supra-group of soldiers trained by West who all became drug dealers. 

Yes, this is all starting to feel like a 1980s arcade game.

So far, we don't really know the truth, but now we know that this is all a drug-dealing plot, and that someone was murdered to cover it up. We also know that the Samuel L. Jackson character was kind of a villain that everyone hated, whether or not they, too, were involved in the drug dealing. What we don't know yet is the actual culprit. And here's the confusing part: two of the characters SWITCHED NAMES!

Dunbar is Actually Pike

So, yeah, the Van Holt character, Dunbar, was actually named Pike this whole time, meaning that some of the flashbacks and information given earlier was wholly inaccurate, a deliberate ruse by the filmmakers. See what Roger Ebert meant when he called "Basic" a jerk-around movie? The Van Holt character reveals that he and the other soldiers were smuggling cocaine, that West found out about their crimes, and that they killed him to cover them up. So West might have been a mean guy, but his murder was now predicated on the drug dealing that has now entirely changed context. Pike took Dunbar's tags. The Section 8 legend doesn't seem to be at all significant anymore. 

But it will be again. Hang on. 

Tom Hardy figures that the man behind the drug dealing was actually the local colonel, Styles (Tim Daly). Hardy confronts Styles, and he confesses to orchestrating the murders. After attempting to bribe and/or kill Hardy, Osborne storms in a kills Styles in a rage. She heard everything. 

Hardy was in on it the whole time

And that's that, right? Oh, no. There's another twist. You see, it seems that Hardy was in on the conspiracy this whole time. He and "Pike" end up absconding together, and Osborne chases them. 

After Styles is killed and his confession is on record, Osborne thinks everything can be pinned on him, but after witnessing "Pike" and Hardy drive away together, she gets suspicious and follows them. She trails them to a bar in Panama City where, get this, West and all of his soldiers are still alive. They reveal to her that they are indeed the mysterious Section 8, but that Section 8 is a Black Ops organization that was in the midst of recruiting West. Yes, there was a drug-dealing operation — and it was overseen by Styles, Kendall, and the apprehended doctor — and West did indeed find out about it. 

However, when it looked like Styles was going to kill West, Section 8 stepped in and staged everything, including the investigation. Hardy isn't a former alcoholic or DEA agent, but a colonel. 

A small amount of reflection reveals that none of the staging was necessary. If Section 8 had information that Styles was dealing drugs and staging plots to kill a fellow officer, a run-of-the-mill MP officer could merely arrest him, right? Also, why did Section 8 need to stage a bunch of murders? Was the entire plot meant to draw Styles out? And why did Pike steal Dunbar's identity? There are answers given for some of these questions, but none of them are presented with clarity or wit. 

I suppose McTiernan and "Basic" screenwriter James Vanderbilt ("Zodiac," "The Amazing Spider-Man," "Scream VI") wanted a fun twisty story, but it doesn't fall into place in any meaningful way. It's a maze with no exit until the writer pulls down a wall for you.

"Basic" isn't that good.