It’s hard to believe that the 1986 supernatural thriller Nomads is the first film directed by John McTiernan, who would leap from this low-budget effort to directing first Predator and then Die Hard, the greatest action movie of all-time and, if we’re being honest with ourselves, one of the best movies ever made in any genre. Nomads is meandering and dreamlike, ponderous and often nonsensical. Die Hard is airtight technical perfection. Nomads plays like the work of an indie filmmaker making an art movie with genre tendencies. Die Hard is expertly directed studio entertainment on a massive scale. The two movies could not be more different. And, yet, somehow Nomads is the movie that gave rise to one of the greatest action directors of the ‘80s and ‘90s. Funny, that.
In his first leading role after finding success on TV’s Remington Steele, Pierce Brosnan stars as Jean Charles Pommier, a French anthropologist who — and I don’t think this is a spoiler, but be warned — dies in the movie’s opening scene. He’s brought into a hospital emergency room ranting and freaking out before dropping dead, at which point a part of his consciousness magically leaps into the body of attending physician Dr. Eileen Flax (Lesley-Anne Down). She then psychically experiences the final week of his life, learning that he was studying primitive people but has settled down to teach in Los Angeles. He discovers a tribe of nomads reminiscent of those he has studied, but the more he learns about them the more he discovers they are more than they appear to be on the surface — and the more dangerous they become.
What a fascinating, confusing and often boring movie Nomads is. While gorgeously photographed thanks to cinematographer Stephen Ramsey and McTiernan’s incredible eye for striking compositions, the screenplay (also by McTiernan; it’s his only credit as a screenwriter) is a muddle mess of half-formed ideas and inconsistent internal logic. The movie tries to get a pass by using dream logic, and there are certainly set pieces that feel like waking dreams, but too many times Nomads can’t even set up its own set of rules to follow. The construction of the film, which bounces back and forth between Lesley-Anne Down’s “present day” life and her visions of what happened to Brosnan, seems to be disorienting for its own sake. Aside from the hook of killing of Brosnan at the start of the movie, there doesn’t seem to be any reason why the narrative couldn’t have just been told straight. Down’s character is almost wholly unnecessary.
While it never quite adds up to a satisfying whole, there are scenes and visuals that manage to break through — it’s clear that even this early in his career McTiernan is a born filmmaker even if abstract storytelling isn’t his strong suit. There’s a certain only-in-the-‘80s kick to seeing musician Adam Ant and ubiquitous cult star Mary Woronov show up to play two of the leather-clad nomads (Woronov, in particular, gets her own showcase dance number), but the storytelling gaps make it difficult for us to ever understand what the nomads really are or what threat they represent. There is deliberately abstract — like David Lynch — and then there is woefully obtuse. Like a lot of Nomads.
Scream Factory’s Blu-ray of Nomads is not their usual bells-and-whistles affairs; it’s a smaller, more obscure film and, as such, warrants a smaller, more modest release. The film looks good in 1080p HD, but is not without its share of scratches and flaws. It’s not the best the movie could ever look, but I suspect it’s as good as we’re going to get. The only bonus features are a pair of interviews with co-star Leslie-Anne Down and composer Bill Conti, as well as an original radio spot and trailer.
Looking back on it almost 30 years after its release, Nomads seems like an ideal first movie for John McTiernan. It’s messy and ambitious and deeply, deeply flawed, but there’s enough flair and promise to be found that it’s easy to see why it would lead to bigger and better things. Fans of the film who grew up watching it during constant replays on HBO will want to add Scream Factory’s Blu-ray to their collection; the uninitiated are advised to rent it first and see what they’re in for: impressive visuals marred by some wonky storytelling. Oh, and Pierce Brosnan’s French accent.
Movie Score: 2.5/5, Disc Score: 3/5
Patrick lives in Chicago, where he has been writing about film since 2004. A member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Online Film Critics Society, Patrick's writing also appears on About.com, DVDVerdict.com and fthismovie.net, the site he runs and hosts a weekly podcast.
He has been an obsessive fan of horror and genre films his entire life, watching, re-watching and studying everything from the Universal Monsters of the '30s and '40s to the modern explosion of indie horror. Some of his favorites include Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (1931), Dawn of the Dead (1978), John Carpenter's The Thing and The Funhouse. He is a lover of Tobe Hooper and his favorite Halloween film is part 4. He knows how you feel about that. He has a great wife and two cool kids, who he hopes to raise as horror nerds.
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