By Geno McGahee
On September 11th, 2001, the world changed when the World Trade Center and Pentagon were attacked in the biggest terrorist strike in U.S. history. Hollywood decided to remove a few movies from rotation and pushed other films to later dates. COLLATERAL DAMAGE was a film about terrorism that was pushed ahead to 2002 for a release, featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger in the lead. It was a hopeful comeback film for the action star that once owned the box office. Films like TOTAL RECALL, KINDERGARTEN COP, RUNNING MAN, PREDATOR and TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY was huge money-makers, but the action scene had made a shift and the explosive action style that Arnie brought wasn’t as in demand.
After a huge success with TRUE LIES, the box office releases for Schwarzenegger were underwhelming. JUNIOR, released in 94, lost 30 million, ERASER in 96 broke even, JINGLE ALL THE WAY also broke even, he was a victim of BATMAN & ROBIN, and both END OF DAYS and THE 6TH DAY lost big money. The majority of the releases from Arnold were good films but they just didn’t bring in the audience that he once had. COLLATERAL DAMAGE had some of the elements that made Schwarzenegger a special force, but it wasn’t one of his best and the box office returns reflected that, losing 45 million.
The film could not have gotten a better director. Andrew Davis, known for his work in such films like THE FUGITIVE, UNDER SIEGE and ABOVE THE LAW, was the right guy for this assignment. Arnold plays Gordy Brewer, a fireman with a wife and child and an ideal life. As he goes to pick them up, there is a huge explosion and they both die. This was the work of “the wolf”, a terrorist that wants to make America pay for their military attacks. When Brewer doesn’t get the answers that he wants, he decides to head to Columbia to take down the wolf himself.
The lead of the terrorist group, Claudio Perrini (Cliff Curtis), is the target, but it won’t be easy. Brewer has to deal with the authorities and the criminal elements. He comes across Selena (Francesca Neri) and her young son, and protects them. This is an easy position for him. Because he was late picking up his wife and son, Brewer holds himself partially responsible for their death. When he sets explosives at the complex that Claudio resides in, he sees Selena and her son walking in an area that will promise certain death, he saves them, but it also saves Claudio and gets him captured.
Claudio is not a nice person by any stretch. At one point, he takes one of his own guys, pries his mouth open, and shoves a venomous snake down his throat. He has no regard for human life and is now planning to blow up a building in Washington. Selena lets Brewer go and teams up with him to stop Claudio and the imminent terrorist attack. They head to the states and Brewer begins to get some revelations, leading to an explosive finale.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE was another step forward in the acting career for Schwarzenegger. Arnold is underrated as a dramatic actor and much like his great performance in END OF DAYS, he brings this side to this film. Francesca Neri was very good in her role (spoiler) as both a good person in a bad situation and an evil terrorist. She was able to play both sides convincingly. Cliff Curtis was also a great choice for the role he was in. He was a scary villain and had this layer of pain he brought to the character. He just wasn’t a bad guy to be a bad guy. He was a person tainted by his surroundings and events and that was put across rather well. Elias Koteas deserves a mention as well. He played an agent that is frustrated with the red tape and helps Brewer as much as he can. He also played Casey Jones in the TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLE movies. I love those films…with the exception of the third.
COLLATERAL DAMAGE is a good movie. There was just something missing from this film. Perhaps it was too serious, but whatever the case, it is a forgettable one in the Schwarzenegger collection. All the elements were here for it to be great, but it pales in comparison to most of the other films that Arnie put out and it bombed upon release, losing a lot of money. I recommend it, but it should have been much better all things considered.
Rating: 6/10
