2008 Woodie Awards
Collateral Damage: A Brain Damaging Plot
Actor Arnold Schwarzenegger named fourth member of Axis of Evil
Rob Noirot
Issue date: 2/15/02 Section: Features
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The dead of winter finds movie fans in an ugly position – movie studios just do not release quality films in the doldrums of January and February. It is certainly not like spring or summer, when you can go out and see the blockbuster, must-see films that studios send out to bring enormous audiences into air-conditioned theaters for an oasis from the heat. Nor is it the fall when you can go see critically acclaimed films that are released late in the year to catch that "Oscar buzz." So what is a fan of movies to do this time of year? Well, just take what you can get, which is what I did when I walked into Collateral Damage.
Collateral Damage was originally supposed to be released in late September of last year, but after the events of September 11th, it was taken off the schedule of new releases because its plot dealt with terrorist attacks on America. Hence, the movie has the feeling of a summertime movie extravaganza and features a big star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays Gordy Brewer, a man who tries to take revenge upon the people responsible for the killing of his wife and child in a terrorist attack on a building in Los Angeles.
To accomplish this he travels to Columbia to track down guerrilla war fighters and one person in particular, Claudio (Cliff Curtis), a.k.a. "The Wolf," who was personally responsible for setting off the bomb that killed his family. While traveling through Columbia (avoiding both Colombian government agents as well as FBI agents) he battles and kills many people in fiery action sequences loaded with bombs and explosions, finally making his way to the center of the guerrilla fighters' compound.
Eventually a subplot evolves in which Gordy, in a completely unbelievable coincidence, saves the life of Claudio's wife and child. The symbolism is just too stupid to even mention. When Claudio eventually captures Gordy at the compound, it is his wife Selena (Francesca Neri) who convinces Claudio to keep Gordy alive.
It is at this point when plot twists develop as we hit the climax of the movie involving Claudio bombing a major building in Washington DC. This is where the plot turns from being simply unbelievable to ridiculously unbelievable, spiraling down to a poor conclusion.
Collateral Damage was originally supposed to be released in late September of last year, but after the events of September 11th, it was taken off the schedule of new releases because its plot dealt with terrorist attacks on America. Hence, the movie has the feeling of a summertime movie extravaganza and features a big star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who plays Gordy Brewer, a man who tries to take revenge upon the people responsible for the killing of his wife and child in a terrorist attack on a building in Los Angeles.
To accomplish this he travels to Columbia to track down guerrilla war fighters and one person in particular, Claudio (Cliff Curtis), a.k.a. "The Wolf," who was personally responsible for setting off the bomb that killed his family. While traveling through Columbia (avoiding both Colombian government agents as well as FBI agents) he battles and kills many people in fiery action sequences loaded with bombs and explosions, finally making his way to the center of the guerrilla fighters' compound.
Eventually a subplot evolves in which Gordy, in a completely unbelievable coincidence, saves the life of Claudio's wife and child. The symbolism is just too stupid to even mention. When Claudio eventually captures Gordy at the compound, it is his wife Selena (Francesca Neri) who convinces Claudio to keep Gordy alive.
It is at this point when plot twists develop as we hit the climax of the movie involving Claudio bombing a major building in Washington DC. This is where the plot turns from being simply unbelievable to ridiculously unbelievable, spiraling down to a poor conclusion.
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