Dommages collatéraux

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

It's easy to see why this was postponed because of September 11 (even the terrorist group in the film ALC only needs IADA put on the end of it).What's hard to understand is how Collateral Damage got released at all.It's hard to believe this film is directed by Andrew Davis,the director of such action greats as The Fugitive,Under Siege and Nico.Ageing action man Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Gordy Brewer ,the most ridiculously named action character ever,who goes to Columbia to seek revenge on El Lobo,the terrorist mastermind who killed his wife and child with a bomb blast on the Anti-Terrorism Agency in New York.The story is poor (how can a fireman have so much knowledge on how to locate and take out master terrorists?)as is the character development,and in fact,so is the action.Truly run-of-the-mill stuff and nothing that hasn't been done to better and much more impacting effect in previous films of this type.For this,54 year old Arnie still has impressive biceps,and things do heat up a bit at the end.But overall,on the basis of this and his previous films,one thinks the Arn ought to think about retiring from film and trying harder to become mayor of California.**

The Goveranator, "On the Loose, with Dr. Seuss!" When I lived in Colombia, people would say to me: "I never go to those Hollywood movies, always projecting such a lousy image of Colombia!" Hard to refute that, eh! And how about this one? Is it worth seeing AH-NULD one more time? Must answer YES....and NO! Despite having seen a constant decline in the quality of his final films, they are still a cut above a lot of the action movies produced in Hollywood today. So, if the ACTION genre is your thing...The answer is "YES". For everyone else, I think the words "I "YO PASO" are the most apropos.

"Collateral", filmed BEFORE 9/11, with its Colombian terrorists detonating bombs on U. S. soil, passes from the category of Fiction to that of Fairy Tale! The bad guy here is a narco-guerrilla/terrorist named Claudio Perini, willing to sacrifice it ALL...for the "Cause".(All the Colombians I know named Perini are UP-STANDING law-abiding citizens) The most chilling aspect of this film, is a mother so perverse and diabolic, she sacrifices her only son, with the dispassionate air of someone taking out the trash!

Thusly, Hollywood serves up a distorted and grotesque image of Colombia in this movie. Seems to me like the ones experiencing the most "Collateral Damage" are the viewers of the film itself! 5.5*, rounded DOWN to 5*.

Thrilling action movie well starred by Arnold Schwarzenegger that delivers vicarious thrills for anyone. Gordon Wrewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a firefighter from Los Angeles who sees how his wife and son are immersed in a terrorist attack whose perpetrator is a Colombian terrorist known as "El Lobo". Disappointed by the FBI investigation and furious at seeing that the man who destroyed his life will never pay for what he has done, Brewer decides to take action and take justice into his own hands. In Columbiaa , he meets Selena (Francesca Neri) and her son (Posey) and instinct to protect and serve them kicks into action, giving renewed purpose. The Act Itself Wasn't Personal...His vengeance will be. Gordy Brewer was a fireman whose job was to save people's lives. One tragic day he couldn't save his wife and son. What Would You Do If You Lost Everything? . Nothing is more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose.

Revenge actioner pits Arnie against against the Columbian terrorists whose actions caused a personal massacre. Decent thriller containing suspense, noisy action-packed , intrigue, shootouts , plot twists and loads of violence. A good action movie for Arnold fans, in which fireman Arnold takes matter into his own hands and sets out to catch, The Wolf , the rebel leader of Columbia's civil war and the one responsible for his family's demise, and , of course, using the heavy department artillery working overtime. There's lots of action and Arnold Schwarzenegger looks great. This is a predictable , run-of-the-mill thriller , even formulaic , but the usual formula works , at times . Arnie as a two-fisted agent is nice, and , of course , he shoots lots of people , as our hero will eventually mow down the entire syndicate of bad guys just like Charles Bronson and Chuck Norris. Violence , noisy action, grisly killings and bloodshed ensue here and there. Arnold retuns to a familiar big-budget action territory as a firefighter, good family man who seeks justice and relentless revenge against the cause of his misfortune . Highlights are John Turturro as an exiled Canadian working as a mechanic and Leguizano as Felix, the Columbian drug producer. Being well accompanied by the beauty Italian Francesca Neri, along with a notable plethora of familiar secondaries , such as Raymond Cruz, Rick Worthy, Lindsay Frost, Miguel Sandoval, Harry Lennix, Jack Conley, Todd Allen, Greg Collins, Bruce Ramsay, Michael Cavanaugh, Rodrigo Obregón, Nicholas Pryor, among others. Mexico subs for Columbia well photographed by Adam Greenberg in this unbelievable and formulaic thriller for genre enthusiasts and Arnold fans only.

The motion picture was professionally directed by Andrew Davis, but nothing special, he's a filmmaker with a reputation for directing intelligent thrillers. Director Davis provides this film with great plot strength since he himself is an expert in physics and engineering. He has made good and boxoffice films, such as ¨Above the law¨, ¨The final terror¨ , ¨Chain reaction¨ , ¨Collateral damage¨ , ¨The Package¨ and Davis went on to direct 1992's top grossing picture, ¨Under siege¨ (1992), for Warner Brothers, a classic action film teaming Steven Seagal with Tommy Lee Jones. Being his greatest hit ¨The fugitive¨, this film received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and earned Tommy Lee Jones a Best Supporting Actor award. Andrew Davis frequently casts 'Ron Dean', Chelcie Ross, Joseph F. Kosala, Joe Pantoliano and his father 'Nathan Davis' . He often directs in his city : Chicago. Rating: 5.5/10. Passable and acceptable but inferior than other Andrew Davis films.

"You can't take the law into your own hands!"

So says some guy from some government agency to Arnold. In the preview, this seems like typically horrible dialog for an action movie. However, I was surprised that, in the context that it was used, it wasn't too cheesy.

I saw a 'behind the scenes' thing on HBO and everyone involved was saying that this was something really different for Arnie. Why is it that people say that about every movie he's in? They're all the same! But that's okay. We're used to it. In 'End of Days' he played an alcoholic. We knew this, not because we ever saw him drunk, but because some one brought it up every ten minutes. These are things that we've come to accept about Arnold's movies. So stop telling us that this is something new.

At least, that's what I've felt for a while now. This movie is a little different. It's not a stretch, or anything radically different. But it isn't the exact same thing that Arnold's done before. It is, however, the same thing we've seen from other people before. It seems that he looks at what is popular, and he does his version of that. People like government agents, I'll do 'Eraser.' People like supernatural stuff, I'll do 'End of Days.' What's all this I hear about a movie with a twist at the end being brilliant? I suppose I'll do 'Collateral Damage.'

So is it good? Is it bad? It just is. One thing I am glad about is that is was rated R. I am sick of movies being cut down to PG-13 simply because some people feel that things should be accessible to the "family." Cutting stuff to do that ALWAYS detracts from the quality of a movie. I've actually heard directors say that they needed to take the energy level down on a scene in order to qualify. Why would you want to do that?

Yes, this movie's release was postponed. We all have our own opinions on that and nothing, not even seeing the movie, is going to change our minds.

One final note: Am I the only one who, when watching Cliff Curtis, can only think, "You know what I think? I think you're stealing gold." ?

This action, is about a fireman (Schwartzenegger) who loses his family to a terrorist's bomb in LA, and then goes after the terrorist when the authorities do nothing, is OK! The pace is fast and the effects plentiful!

There are a few logical problems, like why is it the fireman, among thousands of security personnel in DC, that is the only one going after the killer, when the latter is trying to turn DC into an inferno?!

Lots of good actors, nice cinematography and special effects, in short better than average, but the misses are sometimes bad, like not getting Colombia's map correct! That he can travel on someone else's pass is also amazing.

But it is fairly logical, in its own context, so you don't mind the misses the first time you see it!

Not too bad for a hero, over 50 :-)!