Collateral Damage Review
by Karina Montgomery (karina AT cinerina DOT com)June 21st, 2002
Collateral Damage
Rental
Much press was made about the delay of this film's release after the events of 9/11/01 for sensitivity's sake - something Hollywood is of course famous for. Of course there are dissimilarities between CD and real life, such as the villain, the scope of the bombing, and the Schwarzenegger outcome, but I can understand why they delayed it. I can also understand why they ultimately released it instead of shelving it - a lot of people out there wish they had the means to do what Arnold does in this film, which is to go over to where the bad guys are, personally, and kick some ass. Oops, did I give it away? Why else do you go see Arnold movies? He is the Blaster id to our desk-bound Master ego. In the relatively narrower continuum of Arnold movies, Collateral Damage is merely acceptable. In the wider range of movies (3000 Miles to Graceland at one end, Silence of the Lambs at the other), it's less than competent. However, in the wake of 9/11/01, if you still have a little terrorist rage, you might enjoy it. But you can enjoy it on tape at home just fine.
The short version of the story is this: some Colombian terrorists do a narrow-range hit on a diplomatic target, accidentally taking out some civilians (we're talking fewer than 10 people), and of course no one will do anything about it, so Arnold straps on his gear and goes where few Austrian gringos dare to tread. Of course, America unfortunately got the real mccoy with thousands of casualties and a much more creative and horrifying strike to boot, so Collateral Damage has to make up for their lack of "dramatic" losses by giving him some seriously unlikely good fortune in seeking revenge. This does require the production team to, shall we say, creatively bend the laws of probability, international espionage, and physics, but hey, Arnold can do anything, right?
Sadly, the best thing about Collateral Damage is the satisfaction of seeing the job done. It is amusing that the government is rendered so incapable (almost to an Ivan Reitman degree) that a foreigner has to go avenge an offense on US soil. It is also unintentionally fortunate for the filmmakers that Arnold's character is a FIREMAN for goodness' sakes. One thing I have to give Arnold, no matter what film he is in, this or True Lies or Jingle All The Way, I always believe that he does whatever his character does for a living. He does not get enough credit for this. It's always pecs and his accent, but dad gummit I believe he is a fireman in this film. I believe he is a spy in True Lies. He is always surprisingly good at that, and someone should at least notice that.
So, if you are still quaking with rage at the tragedies of last fall, go ahead and rent it, and just try not to ask too many questions. It might make you feel a little better.
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These reviews (c) 2002 Karina Montgomery. Please feel free to forward but just credit the reviewer in the text. Thanks.
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