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This was not a great movie. It could have been a great movie, but it was let down in two major ways.

First off, two of the three lead characters are awful. Blake Lively makes for good eye candy, but she just isn't a good actress. She's not bad in smaller supporting roles (like her part in The Town), but she simply cannot carry a lead. Unfortunately the entire film basically revolves around her (and she narrates), so her shortcomings are brought front and center. Every time her voice-over came on, I cringed. It really was not a good choice.

Taylor Kitsch is no better. Again... good eye candy, poor acting. Very poor acting. He just has no soul, and brings absolutely nothing to his character whatsoever. He should be in a brainless Fast & Furious movie playing opposite Vin Diesel, not an Oliver Stone drama.

The second major failure of this film is even more serious, and that is the story structure. We are never really given the opportunity to understand why the three lead characters (Chon, Ben and Ophelia) have such strong feelings for each other. We're told that they do, but never given any real reason to believe it. This is extremely important, because literally the entire premise of the film hangs on their relationship. If you're going to build a dramatic story around an unorthodox three- way relationship, you had better explain in more than one quick scene exactly how this relationship happened, otherwise the audience won't know why they should care about the characters. Especially when the actors portraying these characters aren't very good to begin with.

I know that I kept asking myself why these two guys share a girl, how they have absolutely zero jealousy, why they never once thought of double-crossing each other, and why either of them care so deeply for her -- to the point of being willing to risk their lives and commit horrible atrocities to save her. Where did all this love and loyalty come from? It was never adequately explained, and the entire movie suffers tremendously for it.

On a slightly more positive note, the veteran actors did a fine job. Benicio Del Toro was wonderful as a psychotic cartel underboss, John Travolta chewed the scenery to bits, and Salma Hayek was entirely believable in her role as well. Unfortunately, their competence only served to underscore the incompetence of the younger leads. It's telling that the best scene in the entire film was between Del Toro and Travolta, with none of the three lead actors anywhere to be found, and hinted at the promise this movie squandered.

A lot of reviews took issue with the violence portrayed in the film, but I didn't have a problem with that. You really can't make a movie about Mexican drug cartels without violence, so I didn't feel it was gratuitous. Unfortunately, however, it also didn't make the movie any more believable from a plot perspective.

Overall, I just don't think this was a very good film. I don't think that Stone felt entirely comfortable with what he was doing here, trying at times to be Tarantino but failing miserably. And likewise, I think that if this film had been in the hands of Tarantino or Robert Rodriguez, it likely would have come out much better, perhaps even great.

Reading the reviews i'm not sure why people were expecting this movie to be like an Oscar winner or something? Going in I wasn't expecting it to be an Oscar winner, if you were expecting this movie to be about a Mexican cartel and not have violence in it then you know zero about Mexican cartels and that is an understatement.

Funny thing was i was expecting this movie not to portray Mexican cartels in their real light, but after watching the movie, yup they are as ruthless as the movie portrays and glad Hollywood portrayed them like that instead of sugar coating the threat they pose to the world.

If you are looking for a violent action movie based on an American drug ring vs a Mexican cartel well you probably have one of the better movies when it comes to that. If you are looking for gone with the wind, sound of the music or something like that best look else where. Me, I highly enjoyed the movie, it delivered better than i thought it was going to deliver. People will complain about the violence but again this is about a Mexican cartel, not the boy scouts. There is nothing i hate more than a movie that isn't true to it's roots, but this movie stays true to what Mexican cartels are all about when it comes to business.

Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) coexist in a drug filled love triangle with O (Blake Lively). They become successful high grade weed dealers north of the border. Their lives get complicated when the Mexican Baja Cartel leader Elena (Salma Hayek) muscles in on their business.

Oliver Stone is putting all his skills into making a flashy crime action. But it just seem more flash than substance. Mind you, I appreciate the flash. There isn't anything original to the story. Certainly Oliver Stone has done better. Yep, there is definitely better Oliver Stone works out there.

Best friends Chon (Kitsch) and Ben (Johnson) are genius pot dealers in Laguna. One of them is more of a "save the universe" type guy and holds a degree in Business and Botany. Yes, pot heads in High Schools everywhere just rejoiced "It's a real thing!" and the other one, suffering from anger issues stemming from tours in Iraq takes care of the "beating the crap out of people when necessary" aspect. Oh yeah, they also share a girlfriend. (Awkward right?), her name is O (Lively). No really it is I swear. Anyways, moving on because we have to, these two guys have made some of the best pot known to man and have made millions from it. (Still can't find their own girlfriend though, just saying). Everything is going great as they take turns with their shared girlfriend (still weird) in their huge beach house when the Mexican drug cartel decides they want to be partners. This actually stands for "We own you now and you know you like it." Ben and Chon don't really feel like being De-decapitated so they decide to make a go of living in a jungle somewhere until Elena (Hayeck) the ruthless lady leader of the cartel has O kidnapped.

So are you over the fact that our two heroes share a girl yet? OK good, because I'm not either. This is one of those films that can only be enjoyed if you can let go of a few things. The whole film is narrated by O in her stoned and lazy version of her "OMG you guys I am so high right now" voice. She is a lot like her role in The Town only without the Boston accent. She is really annoying as a character and it's kind of hard to feel bad for her much less root for her. This is one of the things you have to let go of to enjoy the film. Ben and Chon worked well because they are the exact opposite to one another yet somehow have the respect for each-other to get along despite their constant different point of views. Kill everybody or run away. Ben was almost as annoying as O because he was always whining and psycho-analyzing everything. I found Chon to be my favorite of the three because he seemed to be the only one who just wanted to actually get things done and blow up some stuff while everyone else talked and talked some more.

Villains make films though and despite the awkwardness and UN-likability of some of the lead roles the bad guys were sinister, relentless and kind of funny at times. One interaction between Elena's ruthless right hand man Lado (Del Toro) and out for himself FBI agent Dennis (Travolta) in particular was tense and humorous at the same time. Travolta was surprisingly great in this film as he looked like his old self and I was pleased to see he had a larger part in the film than anticipated. Elena had a well written back story as well as the bad guys, while certainly crude enough to hate were interesting enough to steal the flick.

Savages UN-intentionally gives us no-one to root for and may even get on your nerves for a moment or two with its anything goes mentality. There is no doubt however, that it has some great action sequences, well written dialog (minus a few horrendous lines by O's character), strong acting by a strong cast and is an all-around well-made film all the way up until it's absolutely dreadful crash and burn of an ending. I won't give anything away here but let's just say this ending is a problem. It felt as though the Director had a decent ending for a good film but wanted some attention so badly that he was willing to ruin his own movie to do so. You don't always have to be edgy and cute. Sometimes playing things straight up is what's best.

I know of acclaimed director, Oliver Stone, who released one stylish, deep-thinking, gritty classic film after another. Now, we find that someone else has only gone and stolen his name and is releasing films, pretending to be him... oh, wait, my mistake - it IS Oliver Stone.

Perhaps, Oliver Stone has suffered a nasty knock to the head recently and been duped into taking on this film when he wasn't thinking straight? Or maybe he was kidnapped by aliens and replaced with an identical clone who makes this sort of movie. Either way, it's hard to believe that the man who made Platoon, JFK and Natural Born Killers would stoop so low. Actually, that's unfair. If you're into gangster-type films and you just so happened to watch this, you may think it wasn't that bad. Nothing brilliant, but certainly not rubbish. And you'd be right. However, it's an OLIVER STONE film, therefore with that sort of quality name attached to it, you just expect much more.

It's about a trio of drug dealers (two men and one woman), all of which are 'in love.' Then, one day their threesomes are interrupted by a nasty ol' Mexican cartel demanding they take over their business. Then, to make matters worse, the Cartel Cliché only go and kidnap the two guys' girl, leaving them with no one for their ménage a trois. Therefore, they have to go on a rampage to get her back.

Now, this set-up leaves us with some awkward questions. First of all the three 'heroes' are all drug dealers. They live a carefree and lavish lifestyle and it's hard to give a damn whether they get completely wiped out by the Mexicans or not. Secondly, the girl (or Blake Lively) is possibly the most annoying on-screen character this side of Jar Jar Binks. The whole first half hour of the film is taken up with her voice-over, making her come across as a voice in your head which just won't go away. Then, even when she does get kidnapped, she starts complaining about the accommodation and food the drug dealers are offering. Seriously... if I was those two guys I would have placed an add for a new threesome partner online and left her to the Mexicans a long time ago!

Plus the film is long. It tries to be epic, but it does drag in places. Then you have John Travolta, popping up occasionally to majorly overact. To counter this you have the - normally excellent - Benicio Del Toro coming across as if he's half asleep.

Don't get me wrong, the film isn't bad. There are a few cool scenes to make you sit up and take notice, but the whole package just seems a bit underdeveloped and not worthy of Oliver Stone's name.

If you really like gangster/drug deal films, then give it a go - you might like it. But, a lot of criticism has been poured on its ending. I won't give anything away, but I'll certainly say it's novel. You'll either love it or hate it.

I got a kick out of reading the popular Hated It reviews about Savages. It's all very funny. It's the same with some other films that Oliver Stone made in recent years. But is Savages really that bad? In my opinion it's not that bad. It's a fine film actually. But its flaws can be irritating. When I began watching the film I wondered if I turned on a dirty movie. But no. That was just Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ophelia (Blake Lively) having their special time. Maybe it's not that special because later Ophelia has the same time with Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson). I hope Stone included these scenes just to show that these three are very close. Fine. A little later though viewers are treated to what passes as a commercial promoting the use of marijuana. Fine. The three lead actors show little range throughout the film. But I didn't think that this was a problem because it keeps the film entertaining instead of too dramatic. It's entertaining but it's not easy to watch sometimes. It's a simplified, glossy, watered-down and often violent representation of the War on Drugs and Mexican drug dealing. The Mexican Drug War is still ongoing and several dozen thousand people have been killed because of it. For anyone who doesn't know I'll mention that the war is just a result of America's economic policies. So-called free trade drove millions of Mexicans out of work and into poverty and crime. On the other side of the world, in Afghanistan, the Americans and the British have deliberately increased opium production for export to neighboring countries, especially to Russia. Genocide as a result of drug use and drug trafficking is an old British trick that goes back centuries. It's an interesting topic but I don't pay much attention to it. Savages is kind of a peek inside, though it doesn't get into the seriousness of the issue. Even if Kitsch, Johnson, and Lively aren't sympathetic leads the film still has memorable performances from Salma Hayek, Benicio del Toro and John Travolta. The screenplay by Shane Salerno, Don Winslow and Stone can be considered a cheat. It doesn't just raise a question mark at the very beginning of the film, which I didn't like. It also tarnishes the ending. I would have just preferred the upbeat version without the downbeat version. But, like I mentioned, it's an entertaining film that does have something to say. Its running time is a little over two hours, however the time goes by fast. For me Savages turned out to be an engaging film. Dan Mindel's appealing cinematography is a benefit too. I didn't think that I'd like it when I saw the trailer, but it's a well-directed crime thriller. I recommend it.

Entrepreneurs Ben (Aaron Taylor , though Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy, Garrett Hedlund and James Franco were considered to play him) , a peaceful and charitable marijuana producer, and friend Chon (Taylor Kitsch received training from real Navy SEALs as a part of his preparation and he performed his own stunts) , a former Navy SEAL, run a lucrative, homegrown industry - raising some of the best weed ever developed. They also share a one-of-a-kind love with Ophelia (Jennifer Lawrence was originally cast as O but she pulled out ,Blake Lively was subsequently selected , Director Stone instructed her to take firearm training for her role ; despite not being experienced at the gun range, she hit center mass in her first three shots) . Life is idyllic in their Southern California town... until the Mexican Baja Cartel decides to move in and demands that the trio partners with them. When the merciless head of the BC, Elena (Michelle Rodriguez and Zoë Saldaña were considered for the role as Elena, but Salma Hayek got the role instead) and her enforcer, Lado (Benicio Del Toro) , underestimate the unbreakable bond of the three friends, Ben and Chon - with the reluctant assistance of a dirty DEA agent - wage a seemingly unwinnable war against the cartel. And so begins a series of increasingly vicious ploys and maneuvers in a high stakes, savage battle of wills.

This thrilling film contains noisy action , lots of violence , sexual scenes , plot twists and unpleasant characters . Acceptable protagonist trio , Taylor Kitsch as Chon , a violent and tough ex-Navy SEAl , a gorgeous Blake Lively and the best acting is given by Aaron Taylor-Johnson as a sensitive young who turns into violent one to save his girl . Good support cast plenty of nasty , ominous villains well played by Mexican actors such as Demian Bichir , Benicio Del Toro , Antonio Jaramillo , Joaquin Cosio , though bear offensive racial stereotypes . Special mention to Salma Hayek , whose character of Elena is loosely based on Mireya Moreno Carreon who's known to be the first Mexican female boss cartel . Colorful cinematography by Daniel Mindel , this is Oliver Stone's first film in nearly 17 years to be photographed with Panavision anamorphic lenses . Adequate and lively musical score by Adam Peters .

The motion picture was well directed by Oliver Stone , though includes excessive violence , sexual scenes and unpleasant issues . Stone appears in a cameo as a dancer on the France cardboard skit . Oliver Stone began working on the screenplay adaptation before the book was published . So confidant he was of this story that he himself contributed to investing in the project . ¨Savages¨ is realized in frenetic style and fast-pace , similarly other Stone hits such as ¨Natural born killers¨ or ¨U turn¨ . Oliver Stone is a good professional , though usually panned by mostly critics , nowadays is best considered . Stone returning from the Vietnam war did his first film , it was a student film entitled Last Year in Viet Nam (1971), followed by the gritty horror film Seizure (1974) for which he also wrote the screenplay . The next seven years saw him direct two films: Mad Man of Martinique (1979) and this The Hand (1981) . He also wrote many screenplays for films such as Midnight express (1978), Conan (1982), and Scarface (1983). Stone won his first Oscar for Midnight express (1978), but his fame was just beginning to show .

In reading some of the very negative reviews posted here, I sensed that some of those writers were more interested In Oliver Stone then the actual contents of the movie. I am not such a great fan of Oliver Stone and thought Wall Street 2 was not well done. Savages, on the other hand, was quite close to the book, gritty, and well done. If you have a problem with the portrayal of Seals or the realism of the scenarios then lay the blame on the book not Mr. Stone. Some of the scenes were certainly quite gory, an increasingly common occurrence in many films these days. So if that turns you off then don't watch the movie. On the other hand if you want to see a good thriller that will keep you entertained and are comfortable with the topic area, drug dealing and violence, then by all means see this movie and do not be put off by the any bad reviews.

As for the ending, it was changed from the book and I think for the better. That's my personal opinion and I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, despite my dislike for Mr. Stone.

It was OK enough---it was definitely well directed--but the film would've benefited a lot from three better actors in the central roles. Don't get me wrong--its not that Taylor Kitch or Aaron Johnson aren't decent enough--both play their roles with exactly the same kind of stiffness that i guess suit their characters' circumstance but neither really add anything beyond what the screenplay has already provided them.. like if this were made say 10-15 years ago and you'd of had Steve Zhan and Ben Affleck in it i'm not saying it would've been batter but the two of them would've made you care for what might happen to the main characters a bit more i feel like. I'd rather not get into the lack of any kind of convincing emoting from Blake Lively here--- (She's supposed to be afraid for her life here--and somehow its like she's barely miffed---its as if instead of her life that's being threatened its her wi-fi connection.) having read the book this was based on--the character O in the story was a lot more resourceful and a lot more crazy then Blake Lively ever suggests in the two hours of running time---would that they had cast literally anybody else in her part,just off the top of my head would Lauren Ambrose from six feet under have been considered too old??? would Krysten Ritter??? would Kirsten Bell?? hell Alexis Bidel might of been able to pull this off better (and as much as i love Rory Gilmore emoting was never exactly her strong suit) at least Blake Lively's narrating was OK...i just really wish they could've found someone who could have really put this movie over the top here. God again if this was made like 10-15 years ago--imagine what a younger Juliette Lewis or a younger Illeana Douglas could've done with this.

That's really all i actually wanted to say cause everything else was fine enough--i was kind of expecting it to be more over the top if anything given that its Oliver St one's first crime film in a little while but its definitely over the top enough to satisfy anyone looking for an over the top crime movie. Its good enough that it overcomes the somewhat major obstacles in its path to keep you watching and keep you entertained but again with a little different casting--this could of been first rate.

As soon as she said 'war-gasms' I should have turned it off as I knew no good would come from this film.

But I didn't. Despite my better judgment I sat through the whole thing.

They clearly thought the title sounded cool and then had to figure out a segway for Blake to explain it in the tedious narration.

The only saving grace was the ending, which they chickened out of in favour of a lame one, but kept both just to rub salt into the wound.

Im sad it was made and I'm sad I didn't turn it off sooner.

I'm off to kick a tree stump

I honestly feel like this movie's rating should be way higher than what it is. I thought that the movie was incredible and is definitely one that kept me on the edge of my seat! From the beginning, you get great character knowledge and some back story as to where things are going in the story. The plot line is just amazing! I loved the whole inside look at legal marijuana in California as well as the Mexican cartel portion. Some parts of this movie were absolutely terrifying! And some were quite heart warming.. Overall, it was just a great mix that really kept me entertained the entire way through! I've always been an Oliver Stone junky and he really nailed this one to the wall. I created an account just because I looked up this movie and saw that it's rating was under a 7! The problem with IMDb is right here, people writing their opinions unknowingly persuading someone else to not go out and see an awesome movie. People - if you haven't seen this, it is definitely worth your time and money, at the very least, you will be entertained. With all of the new movies coming out and worthless remakes appearing everywhere, this movie restored some of my faith in Hollywood. Lastly, I thought the cast was brilliant! Really liked John Travolta and Benicio Del Toro's rolls in this! Please don't let the bad reviews fool you, this movie is fantastic and a MUST-SEE!

The story here is ok, but the cast is pretty good. Everything feels good- action, scenery and sound. But nothing is special about it. And who in their right mind would share Blake Lively? There were two endings, and I believe I preferred the first one because it fit the tone and title better.

There are many bad things about this movie, but let's list the good things first. The plot makes sense, kind of. It's nicely shot, and the beach looked pretty. And... I guess John Travolta looked as though he was having fun? Which is more than I could say for the poor buggers who had to sit through this mess.

Your two leads, ladies and gentlemen, are Aaron Johnson, last seen being upstaged by a preteen girl, and Taylor Kitsch, who Hollywood keeps casting as the lead in blockbusters which then tank spectacularly at the box office. You know why that is, Hollywood? It's because Taylor Kitsch has no charisma. None. The furniture was more interesting than he was, and had more emotional range. Even he's better than Johnson, a black hole of tedium from which nothing interesting can escape. These are two of the blandest leads I've ever seen, and I've seen movies that starred rappers.

But dear God in heaven, they are much, much better than Blake Lively. I haven't seen much else of her acting, so I can only think she can do much better than this. But here she's playing a 30-year-old ingénue, a woman-child who knows Shakespeare but doesn't know what 'savages' means. She's meant to be sexy and alluring, but she comes across as so boundlessly stupid that no man could seriously find her attractive. I don't think that's her fault, but the no-nudity clause that made the sex scenes in this movie so absurd? Yeah, that was her fault.

Even that isn't the worst. There's still... that voice-over. The narration that infests this whole movie, but especially the early scenes, is some of the worst writing I've ever heard. 'I had orgasms, he had wargasms' is a phrase that will live with me until I die. And now, even if you haven't seen the movie, it'll haunt your nightmares, too. You're welcome.

Oh, Oliver Stone. There was a time when Stone was a gigantic name in cinema. When a Stone movie came out, you knew what your were getting. But in the past several years since Any Given Sunday, things have changed. Where a new Stone film was something of an event, Stone being one of only a couple handfuls of directors who were really recognized in major cinemas, now we get films from the director that are fairly forgettable. Alexander, World Trade Center, W., Wall Street 2. These films all have one thing in common: mediocrity. Sadly, Savages can get added to that list. Now don't get me wrong, it's an entertaining film, but it's also wholly forgettable.

Firstly, I will say that Stone is still a master of the craft. Savages is directed with purpose and Stone brings out the best in his actors. But it's the story he's working with that never really shines. The film feels a bit slow. There's never any real tension involved, even if it isn't all that predictable. When we expect that there should be more action, the film barely has any. When we expect that we should anticipate more envelope pushing, the film shy's away. Where I expected to wince, grip the edge of my seat, and wait in anticipation of the next event, I found myself somewhat lulled by the lack of anticipation and tension. It really just does not exist, which is sad, because this is a film that had a lot of potential to be very exciting.

Now, I realize this is based on a novel, and having not read it, it's possible the film plays out the way the novel does. And we certainly get some great scenes and actors out of this. Our leads are likable, particularly Ben. Yes, they're criminals, but you never really feel like they're trying to do any real evil. In fact, Ben is such a likable guy that when you see what he inevitably has to do, you don't want him to make those choices, even when he has to make them. Chon is played almost polar opposite, and it works just as well. Even though he's cold and brutal, he's still likable in his loyalty to his friends and his realism. He's not the nice guy Ben is, but he's definitely the second half you know both Ben and O need. I'll get to O in a minute, but both Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch, two of the three youngest of the cast do a respectable job in their characters and are enjoyable to watch as they feel like a real family, much less friends. The rest of the cast bring their A game, with Travolta playing a dirty cop and Benecio Del Toro playing up his brutal, yet laid back enforcer. However, the truly shining star here is Salma Hayek, who gets the best character. Hayek's Elena is the most well rounded character, showing the sides of a brutal crime lord, a woman who still seems like she needs to prove herself while being surrounded by men, and a vulnerable mother who both wants a relationship with her estranged daughter, yet is proud to see her shun the family business and build a life of her own. It's a complicated role and Hayek excels in it.

This brings me to the one, glaring issue: O. Now, I like this character to an extent. As played by Blake Lively, she is a great anchor between the two lead males. However, she plays the character so inconsistently that I couldn't really get behind her. For one thing, throughout the entire film, we had to listen to her monologue and voice over the events going on. I don't mind a little narration here and there, but there's far too much and none of it is all that fantastically written. O is also an inconsistent character. She seems fairly level and grounded early on, but once she's kidnapped, we find her a whiny, rich brat making demands. She also seems to accept her situation a little too graciously. Of course, she's also treated with quite a bit of hospitality. Now, I don't know what other people's idea of the Mexican Cartel is, but the civility demonstrated here is not nearly as brutal or frightening as I'd expect it to be, especially in a film called Savages.

Of course, the worst criminal here is the story. Now, throughout it's decent. It's entertaining and there are a few, scattered exciting moments, but for the most part, it lacks tension or suspense. This is a film about the Mexican Cartel. The Cartel is one of the most ruthless criminal organizations operating on the continent today. And yet, I never truly felt our characters were in real danger. I was never entirely that scared for them and even Del Toro, who is certainly intimidating, comes off as vulnerable. I like Chon and Ben, but I don't really buy that they would have the kind of sway they had with the Cartel and I feel like there could have been a lot more tension involved here. There's also one massive issue in the final 15-10 minutes. I won't spoil it here, but suffice to say, it's a massive eye roller and it really does sour the entire experience a bit. It's not the deal breaker I think a lot of people have made it to be, but it is fairly glaring and really unnecessary.

In California, the former Navy SEAL Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and his best friend, the peaceful botanist Ben (Aaron Johnson) are successful entrepreneurs producing and dealing high-quality weed. Chon brought seeds from Afghanistan and Ben used his knowledge to develop the best marijuana in the country. Chon and Ben share the pothead lover Ophelia (Blake Lively) and she loves both of them since they complete each other - Chon is a powerful and strong lover and Ben is a sensible and loving lover.

Their comfortable life changes when the Mexican Baja Cartel demands a partnership in their business. Chon and Ben refused the deal and the leader of the cartel Elena (Salma Hayek) sends her right-arm in America, Lado (Benicio Del Toro), to abduct Ophelia to press the American drug dealers. Chon and Bend ask the support of the dirty DEA Agent Dennis (John Travolta) and get inside information to begin a secret war against the Baja Cartel to release Ophelia.

"Savages" is an entertaining adventure about a war between drug dealers. The plot is a sort joke with the modernization of "Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid", with two charming drug dealers and one gorgeous mistress. Inclusive there is a reference to this movie when O is talking to Chen and Ben after a threesome. And maybe this is the greatest flaw of the plot, with apology for drugs and giving glamor to two drug dealers and one promiscuous woman. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Selvagens" ("Savages")

"I have orgasms, he has wargasms" oh my oh my, what was Oliver Stone thinking?

It's definitely watchable but it's just about 30-40 minutes too long, really drags its heels in the second half.

Another weekend, another set of movies to review and this time I'm starting with the latest "action" flick to grace the theaters. The movie I'm talking about is Savages, which stars Taylor Kitsch as Chon, Aaron Johnson as Ben, and Blake Lively as O, who are three lovers involved in an odd romantic situation. Perhaps what is even more unique about their lives is the business the three of them work in, which is none other than making illegal drugs to sell to various people in California. Although life seems to be great for the trio, and fairly hippy like, a wrench gets thrown into their gears when a big time drug cartel led by Elena (Salma Hayek). O's two lovers then decide they must do everything in their power to rescue her, or die trying as they set out into the drug underworld.

Now if you're like me and you saw the trailers, this movie was made to look like an Army of Two tribute where two guys go in and overthrow Hispanic drug lords. Unfortunately I was fooled by the trailers yet again, since this movie is more a soap opera than anything else. Yes my friends those looking for shoot them up action are going to be disappointed as the only action in this movie comes from a couple of sniper shots, and few explosive blasts that look like something a teenage Michael Bay would dream up. The movie instead decided to swap the action with bloody torture scenes instead, which were a little grueling to watch as they really left no bloody details out. Now many might be ready for blood since the modern horror movie movement has desensitized most audience members. Unlike those movies though, the blood and dismemberment looks real and isn't a result of some cheesy, imaginary kill that takes away from the fake blood. There are also a few graphic rape scenes/sex scenes the crew was happy to show, which were a little more uncomfortable for this reviewer.

Although a key aspect of this movie is torture and blood, there are some other features to this movie that are worth mentioning. For one thing the acting for most of the cast was excellent, most of them capturing the emotions and mannerisms of their characters. Kitsch for instance captures the soulless, ruthless, outlaw type of a soldier returning from war. Using his pent up emotions to drive his actions, Kitsch played the cold blooded hunter ready to take any steps to obtaining his price. Unlike John Carter though, most of his scenes involve him wearing a shirt, so sorry ladies you'll have to make due. Helping to counterbalance the aggressive fighter is Ben the negotiator, whose morals for making drugs are noble and admirable. Johnson had the right characteristics for the part; the calm eyes, the mellow persona, and the nervous energy during crucial decision were all well combined to give his character a conscience. Like the chemistry in X-men first class, Kitsch and Johnson are another dynamic duo that work well together to create tension and suspense in the scenes. As for Lively, well this role was a little more mellow and drug dependent for me, as her poetic lines and sullen mood were a little bland for my tastes. As for playing the victim, well she did a decent job playing a victim on the brink of giving up hope, yet at times she was a little one dimensional for a character. The bad guys however were actually well designed and crafted to help drive the plot and bring the audience's hatred to a boil. Lado (Benicio Del Toro) in particular was a villain who had the look and actions worthy of an enforcer, yet also had another side that gave his character a twisted edge that made him even deadlier.

The character development was not the only thing that was well done. For me, the drug underworld was brought to life in this movie in both setting and storyline. The seedy nature and treacherous faces of the cartel were integrated and portrayed to show just how fragile the trust between members is. At any point you wonder who the heads are going to kill next, or wonder what means they are willing to take to get their goals. Like a chess match between two champions, the strategy and resourcefulness of the parties involved is realistically portrayed, though sometimes overstretched, to help keep the power struggle interesting. Yet, with this realism comes some graphic and heartbreaking kills that can take its toll on your emotions. Numerous shots to the head, various characters killed without remorse, and a soulless execution of savage acts gets a little old and tedious as the movie goes on. If the ending had been stronger and a little less vague, perhaps this violent killing over illegal drugs would have been a little more tolerable. Yet, the monologue at the end leaves the movie open for another sequel, and left me a little disappointed.

Savages is definitely a movie that lives up to its title with its bloody tortures, shots to the head, and emotionless threatening games. The glorification of the synthesis and selling of illegal drugs for the right reasons is also a little disturbing to see. However, the great character development, setting, and portrayal of a drug cartel are definite strengths of this movie. As a result, my scores for this movie are the following: Crime/Drama/Thriller: 8.0 Movie Overall: 6.0 My suggestion, rent it and avoid the theater as there are no special effects or story lines that make it worth a trip to theater. So until next time my friends enjoy the movies and as always leave feedback to help me get better.

A movie that didn't truly interest me until the last second somehow surprised me with how good it was compared to what I thought it would be. The trailers for this movie were not the interesting to me which made me not want to go see the film. I am glad I decided to still go and see it because I was pleasantly entertained.

This film stars Aaron Johnson (Kick-ass, The Illusionist), Taylor Kitsch (Battleship, John Carter), Blake Lively (The Town, Green Lantern), Benicio Del Toro (Snatch, The Usual Suspects), John Travolta (Pulp Fiction, Face/Off), and Salma Hayek (Frida, Desperado).

Best friends Ben (Aaron Johnson) and Chon (Taylor Kitsch) work together and sell the best pot there is. They also both share a girl, O (Blake Lively), who they both love equally and don't mind that they both have her. A Mexican drug cartel starts to move north and wants to partner up with Ben and Chon's methods and will not take no for an answer. Once they turn down the order, the cartel kidnaps O and forces Ben and Chon to work for them, but they have a plan to try and get her back.

I honestly really liked this movie because it was not what I was expecting going in to it. This film surprised me with every twist and turn it throws at you. When the action scenes came the were well done and very brutal, which is something I really enjoyed. I thought for the most part everyone did a good job at acting, there were just a few who couldn't make me believe their character and you can obviously tell who they are when you watch the film. The one major problem with the film that really disappointed me was the ending. They tried to pull a bait and switch and if they didn't do that then the film would have been better how it should have originally ended. If you have an interest in seeing the film then I suggest you do so, it was fun to watch and had some really awesome action scenes.

Rating: 7/10

Thank you for reading my review, any feedback is greatly appreciated!

I'm normally quite a fan of Oliver Stone's work, but right off the bat I think this is his weakest effort. It looked good from the trailers, but doesn't really materialize. Parts feel labored and underdeveloped. My main problem came from Blake Lively. She was awful, and knowing her from Gossip Girl I expected the worst. I could get past her always sounding like she has marbles in her mouth, but I could feel no empathy for her character whatsoever. Don't know how to identify with a character who sleeps with two guys at once because she "loves both". The next obvious problem comes from the ending. I can't say much without giving away spoilers, so I won't go into it. All I'm going to say is that it was a joke how it ultimately turned out. You will have to have seen the film to know what I mean.

Overall, I had much higher expectations for the film. It was just average at best.

Oliver Stone gives us a new story, mostly free of political controversy, about 3 young people, two men one girl, who live intimately together in a sexual menage a trois, and who happen to be vendors of the best marijuana in the world. Trouble comes as Mexican drug cartels seek to muscle-in on their otherwise idyllic southern California lifestyle. The story is told from the viewpoint of the woman, named simply "O", who tells of her love for both men. Bully for her! But an odd absence of sexual jealousy pervades the relationship between the two young men, one an ivy-league scholar, the other a Navy Seal, the first the brains, the latter the brawn and bravado. Intense violence permeates the film, a very realistic aspect to an otherwise difficult-to-swallow story about happy, rich young pot-dealers who collide with the bad side of the drug world.

Tisch and Johnson, the two males, manage their roles without too much difficulty, and Blake Lively, the girl, does OK as the narrator, though all three characters are drawn without much depth. Their relationships are presented as fact which the viewer is required to accept, but not with convincing effect. The best acting comes from Benito Del Toro as the menacing, murderous psychopath who enforces the orders of Salma Hayek, the drug cartel's ruling queen. The film makes an effort to delineate between the hippy-like dream of being peaceful, benevolent pot smokers with the reality of the violence that marks the contemporary world of drug trafficking...with marginal success. The problem is the viewer ends up having little interest in the fates of these unlikely characters; more pulp fiction than art.