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Collateral Damage (2002) Warner Brothers 1 hr. 47 mins. Starring: Arnold Schwarzenneger, Francesca Neri, Cliff Curtis and John Leguizamo. Directed by: Andrew Davis Collateral Damage Rating:  
E-MAIL GIANCARLO DE LISI Though the title may seem intellectual and intriguing, the only damage this film will bring forth will be upon the discerning viewer’s mind. Arnold Schwarzenneger’s latest action vehicle, ‘Collateral Damage’ is a complete debacle and from its’ conception should have been annulled. Arnold returns in what will prove not to be a comeback, but what proves to be one of his worst films. He plays a fireman who when sees trouble, easily glides into the situation. In typical fashion, he will always attempt at resolving it. He wants to be regarded as a nice guy, but will only be viewed as an underdeveloped character in a film plagued with flaws. Whether it’s men picking on women, children fighting, or a fire victim, he always manages to resolve the issue - even if it means biting someone’s ear off. Yet after this film, he will have to worry about resolving his failing movie career after a string of bad films. This is his worst film yet and supersedes ’Last Action Hero’ as the most mundane and wretched piece of film on his resume. After this critical introduction, allow me to provide a brief overview of what is perhaps one of the most atrocious pieces of film ever. Slated to be released last September, the film was delayed due to the tragic events of 9/11. Centered on the emotional subject of international terrorism, it bears uncanny resemblance to the events currently encompassing us in the world today. Cliff Curtis who has made a name for himself in such character roles in films as ‘Three Kings’ and ‘The Majestic’ demotes himself in this stereotypical character. As the leader of a terrorist group operating within Columbia, Claudio ‘The Wolf’ Perini plots to bomb important L.A. and Washington Government buildings; that is of course unless Arnold can stop him. Both of the United States’ Government units cannot find this man, yet our unreluctant hero treads waters to Columbia to seek vengeance after ‘The Wolf’s’ bomb kills off his family. Arnold plays an all American fireman who loses his wife and son to the first of two plots to bomb the United States. The film opens up with the compulsory subject in action sequence where our subject (Gordon Brewer, played by Arnold Schwarzenneger) the great fireman; displays his skills in a useless and irrelevant scene. The film then cuts to Arnie spending time with his family before seeing them killed right in front of him. Unsatisfied with the progress the C.I.A. and F.B.I. are currently at, he does what no one deemed could be done. He crosses over to Columbia to track the killer down in a near impossible and all too-convenient scenario to track one of America’s most wanted criminals. While the film may contain a shred of emotionalism due to current events surrounding us; Arnold quickly vanquishes those with flat ‘one-liners’, ridiculously over the top sequences and a poorly filmed adventure piece that will leave even the most faithful Arnold fan disappointed. Andrew Davis directs the film and Warner Bros. makes no secret of plastering this all over the ads for the film. Yet the director that brought us ‘The Fugitive’, ‘Under Siege’ and who is currently working on ‘Under Siege 3’ does not capture the excitement contained within any one of those films. The film is a poor attempt at a comeback and relies on a formulaic approach in an attempt to win audiences over which in fact turns us away. The first example is the comic relief in the film; we as the audience do not have the pleasure of seeing one useless character, but two characters. John Turturro is miscast as a raunchy Canadian who enjoys cheap sex and John Leguizamo is a drug dealer with aspirations of becoming a rap star. Does all this seem irrelevant? That is because it is. These characters appear and then disappear like a bad David Copperfield trick. The film wants to be taken seriously but fails on every level. It just isn’t fresh seeing Schwarzenneger pitted against villains who we know he will prevail against. Even Arnie seems tired at replicating the same character only in different circumstances film after film. You can actually see the boredom on this man’s face. The film sets itself primarily in an uninteresting setting such as Columbia where Director Davis makes every effort not to show the beauty of the land but the violence and war that plagues it. The film seems to get itself moving at about the 1-hour and 15 mark when the film migrates to Washington where the second and final bomb is being planned to detonate. Yet, even with the films’ ‘I-see-it-coming-a-mile-away’ twist at the end; it cannot redeem itself from a truly unsatisfying cinematic waste of celluloid. How can it be taken as an action film when it contains no elaborate action set pieces, a horrible climax and absolutely no cohesiveness? Arnold is made out to be a ‘one-liner spewing’ comic antagonist that cannot be taken seriously. Even though he does most of the damage manually, and does not carry a gun and goes off on a firing rampage, the film cannot mask that it wants to make Arnie seem intellectual in his doings, but unfortunately nothing about this film seems intellectual. This film will do more damage to Arnie’s recovery as a veritable action hero than it will at the box office. Click here to comment on this review or post your own thoughts. Giancarlo De Lisi © TheWorldJournal.com |
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