Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Movie Reviews #25 - Sabotage (2014)

Plot: (from imdb.com) Members of an elite DEA task force find themselves being taken down one by one after they rob a drug cartel safe house.

Review: Schwarzenegger’s career since his return from political life has not found great success. They’ve been ok action movies but none have really captured that feeling of back in his prime. Sabotage takes a different take then his typical movies. While it is still an action movie, it is also a thriller. There is a core mystery of who is picking off members of Arnold’s team and it is actually much more intriguing than you would suspect. It took me a few days to finish watching it because of spotty Wi-Fi connection while on vacation but the fact that I tried to finish it every night should be a good sign. This is a very brutal movie, possibly the most of Schwarzenegger’s career. The deaths are very gory and grotesque. However the most unsettling thing is Breacher’s (Schwarzenegger’s character) wife’s torture video. As it would be no surprise once you watch the trailer, his wife and son were killed by a drug cartel. Throughout the movie he is watching the torture and death video, reliving the experience over and over. It is done in a way that while not overly graphic, it is very disturbing. It makes his quest for revenge not something you cheer for but more something sad. It reminds me somewhat of the movie Death Sentence starring Kevin Bacon where revenge was not anything glamourous, it actually makes the situation much worse.

            The supporting cast of the DEA team are basically a bunch of assholes calling each other names and drinking beer. They’re more like a fraternity then a team of professionals. You don’t particularly like them, but maybe that’s the idea. What I didn’t understand was why no one had a bigger reaction once someone died. They were sort of just like “oh well, he’s dead”, had a beer and cheers. You’d think if a good a friend and co-worker died you’d be a little more heart broken.

            The action scenes keep in with the tone of the movie. They are done seriously and are brutal as well. The ending car chase has some nasty collateral damage in it. Overall the movie is not a fun ride but a more somber thriller. Not normal fare for Arnold, but he did well in the end. It’s not a movie I would want to watch often because it does not leave you with a good feeling but it is worth a viewing.

Score: 7.5/10

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