Customer Reviews

Collateral Damage (Widescreen)

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(27)
2 star:		(17)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Arnold Schwarzenegger is starting to show his age, as evidenced in this below average Arnie film. In an attempt to rely more on his thespian abilities than his massive brawn, Arnold plays a fireman who loses his wife and son in a terrorist bomb attack. The range of emotions he is required to exhibit demonstrate the Austrian's limitations. Granted, he's a much better actor than he was years ago, but he cannot truly convince us that he is the character he plays. Of the supporting cast, only Elias Koteas as the CIA rogue, displays any true acting abilities. Francesa Neri as the Wolf's wife comes close, but she telegraphs a key plot twist early on. Cliff Curtis as the Wolf is stock nasty hero and the movie's message that terrorism vs. terrorism tactics is not the humane thing. There are a couple of nasty scenes involving a snake and Arnold's mandibular strength. The movie slows down somewhat in the Colombian sequence, but the climax in DC is appropriately tense and exciting.

Certainly not one of Arnold's best, but somewhat entertaining.

Collateral Damage is the great and partially real action film in which Arnold Schwarzenger plays a fireman hell bent on getting his hands on the Terrorist who killed his wife and kid
and many other citizens near a shopping mall.

With the attacks on Sept 11 , movies have tried to cash in but Collateral Damage is different. Arnold even dedicated the movie to firefighters everywhere in an interview with Byron Allen.
The movie is brilliant in showing what only what the motivation behind terrorist attacks , but the depiction of slow agencies like fbi to counter these terrorist attacks.

Basically, the FBI and CIA tell Gorden Brewer(Arnold
Schwarzennger) that they are working to bring down the
terrorist who killed his family, when in fact they have no good leads on the suspect.

Rather, than sitting on his butt, and waiting for the FBI to do something, Gordon takes the law into his own hands and seeks to get justice for his family by going into Columbia and getting "The Wolf" as the terrorist is called.

There is a great scene in which Gordon goes crazy
and literally beats the hell out of a cold-blooded radio news reporter who says that the victims are pure garbage by saying their "collateral damage". The radio reporter explains the reasons behind terrorist attacks but shows no feeling for victims. I loved this scene, because this reporter clearly has no remorse for the dead. He probably has no family of his nose, and doesn't know the meaning of life, except to cover his own.
Now you might say to yourself what's the difference between
Arnold's character (who is going for justice) and the terrorist well here is the big difference from Arnold himself:

"The difference between me and you is that
I am only going to kill you".

Unbelievable action and twists at the end, that you're literally be on the edge of youre seat, and just when you think the movie is over.... it's not !!!

Director Andrew Davis not only gives a fact type based movie based on Columbia, but also a factual based type movie that deals with Terrorism and the lessons that we must learn to see that things like this don't happen again.

In fact, most people will remember the horrible case of Wall
Street Reporter , Daniel Pearl, who was executed after the
U.S. failed to meet the demands of the Middle East terrorist holding.

The U.S. should have gone after these terrorists like the way Arnold does in this movie. However of course not all terrorists
are MiddleEastern like some racist white bigots like this person
named Nate Howard, an Army Ranger who has been harassing people says. In fact alot of Terrorists have been born and bread here in the US, Timothy McVeight, the UnaBomber and God knows how many others.

This is a great action film that you must see

A film by Andrew Davis

"Collateral Damage" was originally supposed to be released in September or October of 2001. In the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a movie about terrorism on US soil would be seen as insensitive and inappropriate, but it would also have been a bad business decision. It seemed that this movie was marred by the taint of association. It was also marred by the fact that it was a fairly ordinary movie.

Gordy Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a New York City firefighter. His wife and son are killed in a terrorist attack and Brewer just happened to get a look at the man believed to be the terrorist. The terrorist who pulled off the attack is a Columbian known only as The Wolf (Cliff Curtis). The Wolf's agenda has to do with getting the Americans (and their interests) out of his country. Unfortunately, other than agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas), the intended target of the attack, nobody in the government is willing to pursue the Wolf in his own country. In fact, Brandt is being pulled off the case and reassigned. Brewer decides to take matters into his own hands and finds a way into Columbia and starts to track down The Wolf.

Have you seen Arnold's other action movies? Are you a fan of the genre? If so, you know exactly how this movie will play out. If you like these kind of movies, you'll like this one. "Collateral Damage" has its moments, and when Arnold actually gets to Columbia, the movie is at its most interesting (despite being at its most implausible). This is simply an average movie. It's not particularly awful, but neither is it very good.

Collateral Damage(Feb/02)stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as an L.A. fireman Gord Brewer,who gets unexpectedly caught up in the drama of a Columbian drug cartel as he seeks revenge for the horrible death of his wife and young son.It's a well made film,despite the fact it was slighly re-edited in keeping with the 9-11 attacks that occurred just before it was to be released in Oct.of 2001.Instead it was pushed back to Feb/02,released and was considered a flop because it didn't make back its' initial investment.This is unfortunate as the film I think deserved better.But,as they say,timing is everything;it either works for you or against you.
The plot involves fireman Brewer meeting his wife and son at a plaza.He is just yards away when an explosion goes off killing his family.Inconsolable he retreats into his home after he is released from hospital having overcome injuries he himself sustained during the bombing.He vows revenge and starts probing into the bombing and supplies government officials with info which they ignore.Frustrated but armed with much information and a bit of under the table help,he flies to Columbia to kill the Columbian drug lord responsible for the death of his family.It is a long journey fraught with difficulties but he eventually makes it.One night he plants a bomb,but just before it is to go off a woman and a young boy happen on the scene and he saves them.He is subsequently captured and held prisoner.It turns out the woman and boy he saved is the wife of the terrorist he seeks.He convinces the women to bring her child with her,with him,back to Washington to testify against her husband.
They make it back and are at FBI headquarters being questioned.When the woman excuses herself to go to the washroom and gestures for her boy to come with her he refuses.However this tweaks something in Brewers mind and it turns out he is right.She is in fact the terrorist who planned the explosion in L.A.which killed Brewers family and as she escapes to the basement Brewer is in hot pursuit as a bomb goes off in the building.In a huge maintenance tunnel the womans husband is waiting on a motorcycle and both speed off to escape.Closing all escape doors the pair are forced to return to Brewer who is waiting for them.In a final pitched battle Brewer does them both in;one by electrocution and the other by an axe to the chest.The film ends as Brewer carries the terrorists son out of the FBI building.
Well supported our Ahhnold breezes through this thriller quite well as he gives up with alot of great action sequences.There are some brief scenes with John Leguizamo and John Turturo and New Zealand actor Cliff Curtis plays the suspected Columbian terrorist Claudio wonderfully;he being known from the Xena/Hercules series.The film has few slow spots and is well edited to keep the pace at a fairly even level.
Technically the film is in its 1:77:1 a/r and the picture is clear but it can be a little grainy at times.
In conclusion a worthwhile film by Schwarzenegger with a fast moving plot and good action scenes.A man who loses his family,gets his revenge and gains a partially new family in the end.Violent,but we're with him all the way.Recommended.

There are maybe 5 minutes of this movie that is ok. the rest of it is terrible.

Someone decided that Arnie can't rely on his muscles alone (the man's pushing 50, for crying out loud) and made this movie. It is supposed to show off his acting skills. Arnie gets to cry, rage silently, bicker with sleezeballs, and Do the Right Thing (tm). All the while, he is a fireman out for revenge against a random terrorist act that obliterated his family.

Arnold's character is part McGuyver, part brawny fireman, part Punisher. He travels to Colombia on his own, surviving against all odds and his obviously foreign accent to...well to kill people. Only he learns that there are losses on both sides of any conflict. And he trades revenge in for the opportunity to save a little boy.

This movie stops just short of Arnie singing, "All we are saaaaying is give peace a chance" while holding two babies of different ethnicities in his arms. It's sappy, it's crappy, it's all over the mappy.

Okay, so I couldn't come up with an "appy" word. Point is, this is a mediocre film that would have been utterly ignored if it hadn't been for September 11. The director's commentary pumps up this movie to be of vital importance to American culture when in reality, it's a castoff of the cinema world.

In the end, Arnie takes on the bad guys with a fireman's axe. 'Cause he's a fireman. And stuff.

And oh yeah, there's a twist ending as to who the villain is. Yawn.

As a previous fan of Arnold as a foreign man tetermined to make it big in the US, i must say i am disappointed that he even made this film.

regardless of the acting or cinematic value of this movie, i dislike it solely because of its lack of understanding of subject value. The Colombian rebel forces began in the 60s as not a group of bloodthirsty cocaine dealers, but a group in search of economic and social equality, much like the black panthers, in a country with a history of corrupt and oppresive government.

this film, as i very much expected, was a depiction of the guerillas as evil and faschist and the colombian government as good. sadly, as a colombian, i can say taht the government is nothing like the well run democracy in the US. so as i saw the movie progress, i saw taht the main idea regarding "el lobo" (comical name in my opinion) was that he, a bloodthirsty barbarian hater of americans, was after innocent civilians in america.

I can say with much certainty as one who has lost frineds and family to both teh corrupt colombian national military as well as the out of control guerrila forces, taht this movie failed to portray that the victims in colombia were not the government, but rather the civilians who do not support the government or the guerrillas and are struggling to make a living in one of the poorest, most crime-consumed countries in the world.

the word terrorist, with its present-day meaning of bloodthirsty anti-american, cannot be applied to the movement that began under the oppression of corrupt elite citizens and has gone to extremes to achieve its badly oriented goals.

Sadly, Arnold, I denounce you and every other actor in this movie, for failing to understand the conflict that has cost my friends and family their lives. your stereotypical view of colombia is just about the equivalent of saying L.A. gangs are terrorists who have one goal: killing white people.

the ideology of the movie is incorrect, childish and makes no sense. the world is not good and evil, and colombia is an example of that. the colombia itself and the cia have sponsored AUC paramilitaries taht conduct unauthorized massacres, maybe Arnolds next movie should be about less fictional subjects because the colombian guerrillas would never bring the conflict between rich and poor to american soil.

This is a watchable movie, but nothing special. The cover is deceiving -- it makes it look like yet-another Vietnam movie. Instead, it is more of a mix between a terrorist and a drug-war movie. Too simplistic to say much more.

I sat down to watch the movie only after ensuring that the character played by Arnie, was more human than his usual roles i.e. no robotics involved, no sci-fic. They even showed him avoiding confrontation by running scared along with his fellow bus passengers. But as expected the hero comes to the rescue of the weak. The plot was quite interesting though kind of expected. It would give experienced movie buffs expectations of the Glenn Close kind of resurrection from Fatal Attraction. Those unfamiliar would enjoy the movie.Hope this didn't give the plot away.
Enjoy.It's not bad for a fireman.

I have to admit, I was about to rip this DVD out of the player and use it as a coaster for Mr. Frosty the Beer Mug when it dawned on me (after seven Mr. Frosties): COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a symbolic prelude to Arnold's campaign for governor!

Just look at all the parallels. Arnold's character is a fireman with no experience in espionage--Arnold the person is an actor with no governing experience.

See what I mean? And you thought I was just joking!

But wait, it gets better. Arnold butts heads with the CIA and FBI, just like he bucked the status quo of California's sitting governor. His character's confrontation with "El Lobo" (Cliff Curtis) prepared him for taking on Cruz Bustamante. Then Arnold plunges down formidable waterfalls, no doubt in preparation for how hopeless he feels tackling California's budget crisis. And what can you say about his on-again/off-again relationship with femme fatale Francesca Neri, other than it reminds us of how he chased Ariana Huffington out of the race?

It all makes sense to me now. COLLATERAL DAMAGE was made to prep Arnold for his run to the governor's mansion. And here we had thought he just made a lousy movie. What a crafty politician!
--D. Mikels