Product Description

A fireman's family is killed in a terrorist act and takes matters into his own hands when the official investigation doesn't go his way.
Genre: Feature Film-Action/Adventure
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-FEB-2005
Media Type: DVD

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12833 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French, Spanish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com
Arnold Schwarzenegger's loyal fans get what they want in this routine but rousing revenge thriller, which pits the aging action star against a Colombian guerrilla terrorist. Schwarzenegger plays a Los Angeles fireman who witnesses the killing of his wife and young son, caused by the terrorist's bombing in a crowded L.A. pavilion. Despite intense scrutiny by FBI and CIA officials, Arnie infiltrates the terrorist's remote jungle compound, enlists the aid of the villain's seemingly trustworthy wife (Francesca Neri), and plots to foil another bombing in Washington, D.C. Director Andrew Davis (The Fugitive) maintains adequate plausibility even when Schwarzenegger's survival grows absurdly unlikely, and lively roles for John Turturro and John Leguizamo add welcomed spice to the movie's impressive display of military ordnance. Despite its formulaic plot and Arnold's advancing seniority, Collateral Damage still manages to pack an entertaining punch. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews

Surprisingly a very good action movie.
"Collateral Damage" (2002)

The released date for this film was delayed after the tragic September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. I had heard quite a bit about the movie and was generally looking forward to it because I enjoyed The 6th Day, Arnie's last effort. I didn't expect it to be a life-changing experience to free our fear from terrorists after the horrific events of 9/11, but I expected to be entertained.

This movie far succeeded my expectations. It's more intelligent, more entertaining, more interesting, more original, more well-acted than I could ever expect. Of course one thing that did disappoint me was once again Arnie went completely soft and the motivations are all good-willed and stuff, he's not a cool bad[boy] anymore! However he still makes for a decent watch, also giving in a great performance as Gordon, our main man. Schwarzenegger was able to portray the tense expressions and great action stunts as well expect from him. But he also turned in what I found to be somewhat of a more subtle performance than usually, he had some great shock and dramatic acting scenes, and I think he could be really more than an action actor with big muscles, even if that's what we'll remember him as.

As for the rest of the cast, they turn in pretty decent performances. Cliff Curtis once again playing the bad guy is generally threatening. Francesca Neri (last year's underused Hannibal star) does pretty good as the mum caught in the middle. John Turturro and John Leguizamo were great comic relief and entertained me a lot. But Leguizamo's drug-making scenes were totally unnecessary to the whole plot of the movie.

This is yet another one of those twist-in-the-end movies (much like last year's The 6th Day, Arnie's box office hit) and it completely surprised me. The twist does have a couple of plot holes, but overall it worked. I was very pleased with the way it explained the twist, it made me understand the movie a whole lot better. Sometimes it doesn't make such perfect sense though.

The action sequences in this movie are entertaining, and very well filmed. They also have a certain cleverness to them (they're not just there because they are) and each of them delivers in a big way. They are also very well directed and the director of photography catches the atmosphere and important shots. The editing is very good (the fire especially looked very real) and the music used the perfect instruments (refreshingly different sounds!) to portray the excitement.

All that said, I felt the movie was a little too long at about 2 hours, and it had some unnecessary scenes (Elias Koteas wasn't really essential, and neither was the whole John Leguizamo drug back-story). However, this movie remained an entertaining, enjoyable, smart and thought-provoking dramatic actioner.

MY GRADE: B+

Decent but formulaic action flick
Anyone who goes to an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie expecting stimulating dialogue and insightful human drama is only kidding himself. Like all of Schwarzenegger's films, this is formulaic and unoriginal with great action footage. This is an unabashed Joe-Six-Pack guy flick. On that level it succeeds nicely.

Of course, this film can't be compared strictly with mindless action flicks, because it pretends to be an international thriller, and here it fails spectacularly. It attempts to become philosophical, perfunctorily tossing in the idea that one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter, but the script doesn't dwell very long on this question and quickly proceeds to the next firework show.

The incursion of fireman Gordy Brewer (Arnold) into the terrorist camp is so far past implausible that it is comical. The G-men border on goofy. And the idea that terrorists would detonate a bomb with a cell phone is just silly. One wrong number (or telemarketing auto-dialer) and "wham", mission over.

The twist ending is decent and at least it is not totally predictable, unlike the rest of the film. Director Andrew Jackson, best known for his direction of "The Fugitive", keeps the film moving briskly and alternates effectively between action and suspense, without letting the improbability of the script act as an impediment.

Arnold is still in great shape and athletic as ever despite his heart valve replacement. I have to give him a lot of credit. After that surgery a lot of actors would have been happy to take less demanding roles. Arnold simply shrugs it off and continues where he left off. One still must wonder how long he can keep playing this kind of role.

This is a meld of his two favorite characters, action hero and tough guy with a big heart. He gives his standard performance, which is not so much a matter of acting, but rather Arnold playing Arnold with someone else's name. Cliff Curtis is sinister as the terrorist and Francesca Neri is lovely and believable as his duplicitous wife.

By Arnold standards, this is not among his best. By international thriller standards, it is brainless and inadequate. As an action flick it is entertaining. Overall, however, I can't give it much more than a 6/10. Action and Arnold junkies will want to see it. Others will probably want to pass.

Solid action movie on a great DVD.
I walked into the theatre to see "Collateral Damage" for no other reason than to be entertained, and give the movie credit, it was very entertaining despite Arnold's hilariously implausible character. I wasn't aware that all firemen were made to through a Green Beret or SWAT program, because he looks like he's taken a few courses in each. Gordon Brewer (Schwarzengger) handles guns, axes, and knives in style like he's been doing it for years, but since this is an Arnold film I'm able to forgive his characters which frequently defy all belief.

In a nutshell this movie is about Brewer's revenge scheme as he hunts down the terrorists who killed his wife and child in a bombing, and tries to stop him before he strikes again. The plot isn't great, what with a fireman somehow breaking into a guerrillas home and all, but director Andrew Davis keeps the film going at a brisk pace, and it's never boring. The DVD quality is also very fine with some good features, and if you're an action movie fan this is one to own.