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The Film :
Arnold Schwarzenegger is no stranger to B-grade movies. However, he never used
to get preachy with the "messages" such a B-grade film can provide.
In Predator, I don't remember Arnold wondering if the alien hunter ripped out his friend's spine because of
an abusive childhood. Nor do I remember a scene in Commando
where his daughter's kidnapper is a really sympathetic guy once you get to
know him; so what if he was about to slit her throat? Now, imagine Collateral
Damage, where a man (Schwarzenegger) loses his son and wife to a terrorist who,
gosh, is "just like him." Excuse me...??? Arnold
plays Gordy Brewer (Gordy..?), who is about to meet his son and wife one
day, when a terrorist bomb explodes nearby, killing 9 people, including
Gordy's wife and son. The act of violence turns out to have been aimed at
a political figure nearby; innocent civilians like Gordy's family are
what's referred to as "collateral damage." Gordy intends to hunt
down the terrorist, and exact revenge. Along the way he meets the
mysterious Selena (Francesca Neri), who along with her son is part of the
terrorist's "world". This story has been done before, and even
when it attempts alleged plot twists, you've seen them before, too. Yes,
you've probably heard this "2002" film was in fact filmed prior
to last year's unforgettable September 11, only to be held back until now.
However, this film's problems have nothing to do with timing in release.
The real problem is a story that can get off the beaten track at times. In fact, this film seems to have had another track it
intended to go on, and managed to fall off that track as well. It
is a film canvas painted by two hands at once; the right hand wants to
make a movie where Ah-nold kicks the bad guy's butt with a sharp,
Conan-like instrument of death; the left hand wants to paint us a picture
showing that, gee, people who engage in guerrilla warfare are just like
you and me! Yessir; the only difference is they sell illegal drugs and
carry automatic weaponry all day. Indeed,
this isn't the first liberal minded movie about war or battles or
whatever. However, it isn't a very well done one, even if you agree with
what it's saying. In one scene which is played purely for sympathy for the
terrorist, Selena explains that not too long ago, the terrorist lost his child, too.
We're from then on supposed to see some "similarity" between
Gordy and the terrorist, though this is a hard sell. It is safe to assume
that said terrorist lost his child due to a lifestyle where Daddy carried
a gun all day and engaged in gun battles with his child just 10 yards
away. Gordy is a fireman who just wanted to pick up his son one day and
take him to the doctor. These are similar lifestyles...? The
truth is, the best parts of this film Arnold has done far better in
earlier films. If you want terrorism-hitting-home thrills, watch True Lies,
where Arnold surviving a rain
shower of bullets is excusable in a film that takes itself far less
seriously. Of course, the best film about protecting kids from harm
would have to be Kindergarten Cop, which is perhaps the most
under-appreciated, top-notch film in Schwarzenegger's whole career. As for
"Ah-nold" action films which had far more (and far better)
action as a whole, I just don't have the time to list them all. Of
course, any film that burns the candle at both ends doesn't do well at the
box office, and this is no exception; this film took 85 million to make,
yet made only 65 million, worldwide. Stateside,
understandably, it did far less. Spin
doctors would say this is because of September 11, and some would agree.
Indeed, I watched this film wondering many times, if I would feel
differently about its mish-mashed perspectives, if I saw it prior to
September 11. My final verdict is no. It's not that
my perspectives of terrorism has changed; it's just not a very good movie. The DVD :
Aside from being about a lackluster film, there are some impressive
extras here, enough for one to rent the DVD and not just the VHS tape.
Unfortunately, such extras do not include the audio commentary by director
Andrew Davis, whose one-man-show (initial reports of Schwarzenegger in
this commentary were false) truly proves why one commentator is never
enough. Comments like "it was really buggy that day" or "we
really filmed this indoor nighttime shot at night" just don't cut it.
He does mention how some of the action scenes that look misplaced were in
fact added later to appease preview audiences. Other than that, it's
barely informative.
Other extras include a featurette
attempting to paint this kinder, gentler Ah-nold as "The Hero in a
New Era." I'm not buying into that one, so let's move on. There's a
featurette of footage behind the scenes, as well as the original trailer.
Cast and Crew bios complete these additions, as we move on to the typical
DVD sure-sell, of deleted scenes...
There are 6 scenes in all, which are
collated into one singular video clip, so skipping from a so-so one to a
better one is impossible. The first is of government worker Brandt painted
to look "just as bad" as the terrorists, mentioning how
"forgiveness is easier than permission" is his latest
pre-planned attack against the terrorists. Scene two offers an alternate introduction to Selena and Mauro,
where instead of saving them from being accosted by two bike-riders, Gordy
meets them in the carnival and wins Mauro a prize; a far less impressive
scene, and understandably deleted. An alternate to the "snake
scene" shows the terrorist as a nicer guy, who merely exchanged harsh
words with the guy he would force to eat a snake in the final cut of the
film. The final three scenes include a prelude to the attack against the
terrorist's main camp, the "aftermath" (as if a bunch of dead
terrorists is a sympathetic sight), and an extended scene where Gordy is
pushing for Selena's protection upon their flight back to the U.S.
So, is any of it worth it? No. On the other
hand, is its bias in its messages the reason...? Not exactly. It just wasn't that entertaining to
watch. As for the DVD, if you insist on the rental, I'd say there is an
extra or two that will amuse you. They'll probably be even more
entertaining than the actual film.
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