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STEVE DALLAS Reviews COLLATERAL DAMAGE!!
SPOILER ALERT !!
Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
He's a lawyer, but he seems to spend most of his time perched on a barstool. Or at free screenings. I can vouch for this Dallas character. Despite being pickled, he's a good guy, and he loves the movies. He's sent us some reviews before, but he never told me his real name until now. Turns out he knew I was a BLOOM COUNTY fan, and he was afraid I'd ask for an autograph. I told him I didn't care about his, but asked if Opus would mind.
I can't really print his response where kids might read it.
He did finally mellow out, though, and send along a review of Ah-nold's new one, COLLATERAL DAMAGE. Somewhere tonight, AB King is doing a victory dance as people seem to be enjoying this one in the spirit it was intended. Now Ah-nold just needs to get tough and stand behind Milius on the longer, better draft of KING CONAN CROWN OF IRON, and not let the Wachowskis bully them down to a weaker version of the film. Three hour fantasy epic? Haven't Warner Bros. and New Line had a bit of success in that particular genre lately?
Anyway... here's Steve Dallas with a look at the film through a thick set of beer goggles...
M.
I caught a screening of COLLATERAL DAMAGE tonight, thanks to the good people at CHUD.com. Along with running a damn fine film site, they run screenings throughout the southeast on a regular basis. Those of you south of the Mason / Dixon line would do well to check them out on
occasion.
Collateral Damage is a good action / popcorn movie. Schwarzenegger, believe it or not, turns in a pretty good performance. The story has more complexity & depth than anything he's attempted lately. But the film is plagued by second rate production values and a weak supporting cast.
That, combined with the events of 9/11, make this a weaker film than it should have been.
The story is simple. Schwarzenegger plays LA firefighter Gordon Brewer - an average, ordinary guy (albeit one built like a former Mr. Olympia). One fine summer day, his family is killed in a terrorist attack on the Columbian Consulate. Schwarzenegger was present at the scene and saw the face of the terrorist. When the government is unwilling to go after the terrorists, Schwarzenegger goes after them himself - Not as a commando or some former navy seal… Just as an ordinary guy.
As many of you may know, this film was originally slated for an October release. It was shelved following the events of September 11th . Walking in tonight, I wondered why - the material was timely and relevant, and after all that had happened, what would have been better than seeing Arnold kick some terrorist ass?
I couldn't have been more wrong. When the terrorist attack occurs in the film, it seems so tiny and insignificant compared to what we have been through. It just doesn't carry any weight in the post - 9/11 world. It is hard to seriously consider the danger of hypothetical Columbian terrorists when we are faced with such tangible evil in our everyday lives. So much has changed in the last few months, and this movie feels dated already. This isn't a complaint - there was absolutely nothing the filmmakers could have done about it - but it is a glaring flaw. I wish I could have seen this movie on September 10th - Hell, I wish September 11th had never happened. But it did, and this isn't the same film it was 5 months ago. They did the right thing by shelving it.
Two things worked for me in this movie. Walking in, I wouldn't have expected either - Schwarzenegger (!!!), and the story. This is easily Arnold's best work in a while. Somebody finally found the secret into turning Arnold into an actor - cut his lines down. Going back to his roots, Arnold plays a strong, silent type. He speaks only when necessary, and he doesn't throw around any witty catch-phrases. He's just an ordinary guy, in a very bad situation. When he fights, he's not the Commando; he's not
Dutch from Predator… He's just a very bitter, angry man who has been around the block once or twice.
The other thing that works in this movie is the story. For an action flick, it actually has a fair amount of depth. Don't get me wrong - this isn't THE KILLING FIELDS, or anything approaching a real film. - But for a popcorn flick, it actually does a decent job of bringing across some of the moral ambiguities of the situation. I'm not going to spoil it for you by describing it, but there is a twist that drives the characters thorough the second half of the story and saves this film from mediocrity. The characters do tend to be a bit one-dimensional, but what do you expect from an action flick?
This is a Schwarzenegger film, and of course, people will want to know about the action. As you may know, Arnold never touches a gun in this film. It works, largely - he manages to McGuyver his way through the world. There is violence and a large number of explosions, but it doesn't dominate the story - it serves it. Stuff doesn't get blown
up just to look cool, but keep an eye out for a really vicious king snake, and a Mike Tyson moment.
But COLLATERAL DAMAGE isn't Hamlet - not by a long shot. This is a movie with serious flaws, even considering the genre. What doesn't work in this movie is the entire
first reel, the direction, and the supporting cast.
The first 20 minutes are a bloody mess. Schwarzenegger, who spends the rest of the film playing an everyman, begins by playing a super-fireman in a cartoonish
dream-sequence. Trusty axe in hand, he leaps across vast chasms and dodges walls of flame to rescue damsels in distress. It doesn't serve the story, it looked bad, and it came off looking ridiculous. No time is spent developing the characters of his wife & son. When they die, no one cares. Stilted exposition is delivered by cardboard cut-outs. Stock characters act like stock characters, and you wonder what you are doing sitting there.
Come in 20 minutes late. You wont miss a thing.
The first reel is symptomatic of the problems of the whole. This is not a complex story, yet somehow it gets told clumsily. Maybe it was the edit, I don't know.. the whole film had this aura of being cobbled together. Voiceovers in strange places. Bad color timing in others. Just bad filmmaking all around. Perhaps there was a post 9/11 edit? A spy who saw the film in late June noticed a few things I didn't in this review. In any case, the story deserved a stronger telling than this. Andrew Davis directed THE FUGITIVE. He should know better.
The production values were really weak. I recognized some of the sets - the Columbian jail from CLEAR AND PRESENT DANGER stands out in my mind… It looked like a low-budget film - something you'd see on CINEMAX on a Saturday night. The sound mix was awful, even in what is probably my favorite room in town.
The supporting cast is not good, with three exceptions. John Leguizamo puts in a great supporting performance as a Columbian rebel - it takes you a while to even recognize him. John Turturro chews scenery as a Canadian prisoner in a Columbian jail, and makes life interesting for a while. Finally, Francesca Neri (HANNIBAL) puts in an workmanlike performance as the wife of the rebel leader. Other than that, the characters come off flat and lifeless. Forgettable performances across the board. Maybe Arnold only came across as good because everyone else was so bad?
In a different time, this could have been a much better film. It's easily Arnold's best work since TRUE LIES. But he's not a one man show - at least not anymore. With a better supporting cast, better production values, and a better director, this might have been a really good movie. As it is, it's a just a good popcorn flick. Enjoy it.
STEVE DALLAS
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... but it looks like Ah-nuld himself is the only person out there who hasn't realized this proven FACT so far. Retire big man, race for American Prez. Suits ya better now
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Mostow had better not fuck up Terminator 3 (How'd he get the job in the first place ?). Warners need to give Milius complete control over Conan. Crusade and I Am Legend need backers. If these fall through, I don't know what he'll do. Damn shame.
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woohoo !!! can't wait see this !!!!
100 % fresh rating on Rottentomatoes...excellent !!!
(The rolling stone review is of a trailer). -
The 100% on Rotten Tomatoes is down to ONE review and it reads,
"If you enjoy a standard Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick, then you'll like this."
Give me a fucking break!
I'll go and waste two hours watching this, but don't tell me that Arnold is back and kicking ass. -
...for his justified and un-PC bashing of the person who shouted "FIRST". We, the people of the free world, salute you sir.
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if you click on more reviews you will see there are 2 positive reviews of the film, and one negative review of the trailer.
I tell you Arn is back and kicking arse. He,or Andrew Davis, realised that words aren't his strong point and they went back to basics. -
Feb 06, 2002 4:52:44 AM CST
Too small a terrorist scene ? You're right, it would have be
by silenceoffreedom
"The scene is so weak after everything we've been through" ?! Good god, they made the film MONTHS ago !! Is it their fault that it wasn't graphic enough !? Shoulda been a higher body count in the explosion, you're probably right. FRUIT CAKE !
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Okay BlueLou, I missed the other review, but seeing as that person also loved (wait for it) GONE IN 60 SECONDS, EVOLUTION, PLANET OF THE APES, I don't think it counts for much. Do you really think that Arnold is back? Huh? Back to Conan, The Terminator, Commando, Predator, True Lies....Huh?
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haven't seen evolution, but 60 seconds and Pota remake were mediocre at best. I'll reserve judgement until there at least 20 reviews up. I'm biased because I'm an arnold fan, and find his real life endeavours inspiring. Yeah, I'm also influenced by cheese and corniness.
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Patience my young padewan, you will learn.
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One of my TBs has been deleted! Why? Too offensive? If yes, I'm really really sorry! But ya know, I missed my anger management classes lately. I'm feelin' a lil' unbalanced since ... My psychiatrist babbled sumfin aboot 'borderline syndrome'! Anyone know what this is?
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But it didn't convince me to spend my hard-earned money to go watch yet another movie with a washed-out "actor" who's desperately trying to stretch his career. Can't Arnold just collect his pension check? NOW? Oh, and Harry, can your next animations feature you in clothing? I don't even want to think about Valentine's Day anymore after seeing that last one.
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It doesn't matter how big a terrorist attack it is,it will always devastate lives.For you to say otherwise shows just how ignorant you are.
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A friend suggested it the other day. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.........
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Feb 06, 2002 9:16:28 AM CST
ahnuld rocks.....we grew up loving him, and I for one still do..
by exador
i mean let's face it....i know some of his movies blow....but i've enjoyed most of them....from Conan to comando to raw deal to T and T2 to true lies....hell i even enjoyed his brief cameo in 'scavenger hunt'..."hullo, my name is sven, welcum to da gym"___________________________________________________so while I can make fun of him as well...i still hope for some more Arnie greatness.....just keep hoping for King Conan......
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Wasn't Arnie involved with some sort of harrassment suit last year or the year before? And then everyone in Hollywood went ape-shit and defended him....? Huh. Maybe I just dreamed it, or something.
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Then why are you reading this review and commenting on it?
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From what the reviews are saying, CD is a great popcorn action flick. Rottentomatoes.com has positive reviews of CD up at it's website too! See you on Feb. 8th!
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That would be a travesty. I think we all saw Arnold in a major villain role (Mr. Freeze)and it wasn't a pretty sight.///I just don't think this movie will do as well as it would have before Sept 11. I personally have a bit of a bad taste in my mouth for some of these action movies with all of the explosions and massive gunfire. I just don't look at them anymore as escapist entertainment, like I did before Sept 11. The sad part is, I have always been a major action movie, horror movie fan. I'm a huge fan of old Arnold movies. I grew up on them. I watched Predator the other night and the first act in the rebel village just seemed too popcorny for me. I almost couldn't watch it. Especially after seeing a movie like Blackhawk Down. I would like to end by saying that I hope Arnold has success with this because it may help the King Conan efforts.
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Movies are a form of entertainment. Notice the root of this word is "entertain". All movies are supposed to do is entertain! They're traditionally not supposed to have labyrinth plots, themes, or messages! Whatever it takes to entertain, that's what it needs! Now some filmmakers create movies that really are a piece of work; that make the viewer think, about the meaning of the movie or the plot or whatever. Some people create these movies, and some people watch them. Eventually, these movies may go on to win Oscars or become a darling of the critics, but that doesn't mean that it truly entertains! It makes you think, makes you wonder, makes you speculate, and while there's nothing wrong with that, that movie defeats the whole purpose of entertainment! Kick back! Relax! Watch a popcorn flick! Be entertained, for crying out loud! You want an intelligent movie, watch Gone With The Wind for the 38th time, we don't give a damn! (Quote unintended)
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Compared to Brown,Long and even Bradshaw, the man was tiny!
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Arnold should make one more Conan then hang it up and become a used car salesman.
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You may not like his recent films, but his career is FAR from over. He got paid 30 million dollars for T3, the highest any actor has EVER been paid. And that film's not even out yet. After that he's got True Lies 2 and King Conan. Check your facts before spouting meaningless nonsense.
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Feb 06, 2002 3:26:29 PM CST
Schtebe Dahlos, I Did Not Lige Dat Funny Schtrip You Ver In...
by buzz maverik
Id mate foan ob mein gut freund Preschident Reaguhn. Yoah chractuh vas der only vun dat mate schense. Bot I'm glat you liged mein mobie. I vould run foah Preschident ob Der U. Ezz. bot dey ein dumpkoft rule dat you habe to boan heah to be der preschiedent. Fock dat!
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Feb 06, 2002 4:18:38 PM CST
I Think I'm The Only One That Is Still Holding Out For Arnol
by the founder
if he keeps making poor script descions it will be. He seems to be heading in the right direction with CD, lets hope he starts his climb bach to the top, before he's to old to be on top.
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I think collateral damage looks like great fun and i think its going to do well at the box office. When T3 comes out, even if its crap it will likely make lots of moolah. Sooooooo after hopefully having two hits maybe the studios will finally green light I am legend or doc savage or crusade or with wings as eagles or the greatest of them all... king conan. All these movies could be awesome. Arnold rules the screen he just needs the right material.
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I have been a major Schwarzenegger fan for years, seeing every film since Conan the Barbarian (even The Last Action Hero wasn't a total waste and The Sixth Day was pretty damned good for a SF-action film.) I'll still go see this and probably come out feeling it fell somewhere in the middle. I still love seeing Arnie blast the living shit out of bad guys, but I'm willing to see how he does with this different kind of plot and character, especially since he supposedly doesn't use a gun. Now there's a change! I don't think his career is over by a long shot. If they can make another True Lies, it will revive mightily and Conan the King will leave no doubt. I also hope that not too much is cut out of the Milius script, but even the first Conan was a diamond-in-the-rough; Milius should have left more in, and polished more of what was included. Considering the times we live in, I don't believe any studio would be stupid enough to try to film Crusade or Crusader (or whatever it might be called.) Muslims would go berserk the world over.
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Harry made it sound like he cheated death. Is he OK? Now he's back with no explanation, after Harry got all his fans worried about him and gave out his phone number so TalkBackers could call and wish him well? Quick recovery? False alarm? Seems odd we didn't even get a quick "Rumblings" explaining what the problem was, and now he's back introducing posts like nothing ever happened. I hope the guy's OK, but Harry and the TalkBackers seemed legitimately concerned about a guy we're all a fan of, and I'm sure he got lots of "Get well" messages saying so. I guess it was just a case of TalkBackers blowing it out of proportion.
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That shit is funnier than your Purdy shotgun standby by leaps and bounds. You should create a second ID on this site for just that. Call it Buzz Wolfcastle or something. I'm still disappointed to this day that Arnold did not take Batman and Robin as an opportunity to say "Ice to see you." I would have walked out far less disappointed.
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You people have no respect, Arnold is greatness!!!!! Terminator 1 & 2, Predator, Commando, Total Recall, Conan and True Lies are some of the best actions films ever made, and Arnold made all those films great. Yes lately his choices have been bad but everyone has a slump in there career's. Hopefully this and Terminator 3 will put Arnold back on top again.
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Look, I know this is supposed to be about Collateral Damage, but I see it as a perfect place to rant about Terminator 3 (mainly because this would be read by nothing but movie geeks who give a damn about what Hollywood produces). The only way this film would work would be to have it span from 1997 (Judgement Day) to the year 2029, when John Connor led the revolt against the machines and won the war.
-The film would open with either a synopsis or a flashback of what a then 13-14 year old John Connor experienced during Judgement Day. (Cyberdine gets bought out by another Company whose CEO manages to build Skynet, thus causing the war.)
-Then, without the guidance of his mother, he is forced to try and survive the fight with the machines.
-Eventually, Connor is captured and put into a concentration camp where he and others humans that the machines didn't kill are made to handle dead bodies.
-This group would include: Kyle Reese, who is 10 years younger than Connor; A human Arnie; and Vin Diesel (cuz he's dope)
-When he finally finds the strength to deal with his destiny, he organizes an escape with the members of his camp. Despite heavy casualties, they escape the camp.
-During the next ten years, (in which the war would resembele the action in Blackhawk Down), Connor and his group try to make a plan to destroy cyberdine and have a good old time destroying HunterKillers and series 600 terminators ("rubber skin, easy to spot," according to Kyle Reese in T1).
-Then one day, during a mission which would give them critical information on the Cyberdine Systems HQ, Arnie is captured by the machines and taken away. They get the info, but Connor becomes upset because Arnie is his friend, but he has to let him go otherwise the past would be altered.
-The militia group sees Arnie again, but this time as the first working model of the T101 series Terminators.
-Connor's team captures a Cyberdine Lab. They get there and destroy the Cyberdine defense grid. This leaves all of the cyberdine positions defenseless, in essence they won the war. But, before they manage to destroy the facility and move onto the HQ, they see a Terminator go through a "time displacement" tunnel to the year 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (This time machine only allows living tissue to be transported "....nothing dead will go."). Kyle Reese volunteers to go and intercept it. Connor is again upset that he must lose his friend. They send him back and destroy the complex.
-Everyone thinks the war is over until Cyberdine unleashes it's backup plan, the T1000 series Terminators. The team escapes and has to form another plan.
-The team captures a switched-off Terminator. They want to destroy it, but Connor knows that it must be sent back to the year 1994, so he makes them reprogram it. It becomes a part of their team.
-Anyway, at the end of the film, Connor ends up becoming the General of the rebellion Army, leading his troops in the what would be the last battle against the machines. (this would feature the T1million, as seen in T3 at Universal Studios)
-Of course, they win the day; but not before the machines manage to use their new "time displacement equipment" (which allows for "dead" items to be sent back in time) to send back two things: A T1000 series terminator (to the year 1994 to kill John Connor), and (unknown to Connor) a fully functional Cyberdine Microchip, which is sent to the year 1995, to the CEO of a rival company which manages to buy out Cyberdine and build Skynet, thus causing the war. (This brings the whole series full circle, the end is the beginning is the end is the beginning... just like the smashing pumpkins.)
And then maybe John dies at the end, just to add dramaticism. As the screen fades to black, the phrase that defines the whole theme of the movie, "...the future is not set. There's no fate but what we make for ourselves."
I apologize if this is long, but if you've managed to stick around long enough to read this much, I would appreciatte ANY INPUT YOU HAVE ON THIS MATTER!!! Please! I need to know if this is good or if I am an idiot. paullbenton@hotmail.com
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