The movie begins in the prison in Northern Ireland, where Gaerity (Tommy Lee Jones), IRA terrorist with the great talent to make lethal explosive devices from almost any material, escapes from prison. He comes to Boston, where he accidentally notices Jimmy Dove (Jeff Bridges), dedicated bomb disposal expert within Boston police. Few people except Gaerity know the Dove's violent past, when he used to be IRA terrorist before becoming sick with violence, betraying Gaerity and emigrating to America where he changed the name and started using his experience for good purpose. Gaerity holds Dove personally responsible for his captivity and begins the campaign of bombing terror, directed specifically at Dove's colleagues, friends and relatives. Dove, who is just going to retire and start family, now must confront the mad bomber.

While SPEED doesn't even try to bother with plot and characters, using them only as an excuse for long and spectacular action scenes, BLOWN AWAY tries to be more conventional and provide the action with some back story. And that is the main reason why it is inferior to SPEED. Badly written plot and badly written characters are sometimes worse than no plot and no characters at all. Screenplay by John Bateer and John Rice, barely touches the complicated issues of Northern Ireland, using the tragedy only as the cheap backstory for even cheaper drama. The plot is, of course, full of implausibilities. The main one is the fact that movie fails to explain how the single individual, no matter how brilliant he is, can produce thousands of deadly devices and hold entire city at bay. Those questions, same as in the case of SPEED, could be forgotten while the action goes on, but the pauses between action scenes are filled with cliched and predictable situation that should provide some background to the characters. Because of them, movie seems a little bit too long, and boring at times. The most annoying element of the film, however, is Tommy Lee Jones in the role of mad bomber. His acting is so over-the-top that potentially fascinating villain turns into pathetic caricature of himself. This role is in painful contrast with the strong performance given by that same actor in FUGITIVE. The film have few bright points, though. Some of the action scenes are fine, which should be credited to director Stephen Hopkins (PREDATOR II, JUDGEMENT NIGHT). And Forrest Whitaker really shines in minor role of Dove's colleague. But, all in all, BLOWN AWAY is a film that was justifiably shadowed by its more famous, yet hardly unforgettable competitor.