Collateral Damage *** (2002, Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Leguizamo, Francesca Neri, Elias Koteas, John Turturro, Cliff Curtis) – Classic Movie Review 1081

Director Andrew Davis’s acceptable, formulaic 2002 thriller is a solid enough if unexceptional vehicle for old Austrian oak Arnold Schwarzenegger, who is back as an L.A. fire-fighter who sees his wife and son killed in a bomb attack.

When the FBI dither, Arnie sets off after the suspect, El Lobo (Cliff Curtis), in the jungle terrain of war-torn Colombia. There he makes the mistake of saving the life of Selena (Francesca Neri) and her kid.

Arnie looks fighting fit, a mean revenge machine, and deserves a hit, so it’s a pity that this action thriller is on the plodding and mediocre side. The characters are cardboard, David and Peter Griffiths’s plot is obvious and unsurprising, Davis’s direction is basic, Adam Greenberg’s cinematography is murky and the acting’s a bit weary. Why it’s almost like you’re watching a Steven Seagal movie!

Davis (the extremely capable director of The Fugitive, Under Siege and A Perfect Murder) does do one good job here though. He ensures Collateral Damage does keep pacing along. Meanwhile, Arnie stays likeable as always and the action scenes are, literally, explosive. And that’s probably just about enough.

Also starring the reliable Elias Koteas, John Leguizamo and John Turturro, still scene-stealing if not at their best.

The film suffered a lot of negative reviews and was judged a box office flop after taking only $78million worldwide on $85million budget.

The September 11 2001 attacks affected the film’s release and final version. Its planned October 5 2001 release was postponed due to its terrorism theme and it finally came out on February 8 2002. Colombian actress Sofía Vergara’s role of an airplane hijacker was edited out when the scene where she plans to hijack a plane was cut from the movie. The trailer showing a major bomb attack in the United States was scrapped.

http://derekwinnert.com/the-fugitive-classic-film-review-597/

http://derekwinnert.com/a-perfect-murder-classic-film-review-109/

http://derekwinnert.com/under-siege-1992-steven-seagal-classic-film-review-1017/

(C) Derek Winnert 2014 Classic Film Review 1081 derekwinnert.com