COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Released: February 8, 2002
The return of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action movie comes after a few years of relative quiet in his acting career. Sure, we've had "End Of Days" (1999) and "The 6th Day" (2000) and prior to that it was a spat of clunkers that emerged after "True Lies" (1994). I won't even mention how bad "Batman And Robin (1997) was. So here we go, "Collateral Damage" - a movie shot and ready for release way before September 11, 2001. Warner Bros. held back on the October 5th release date and rolled it out to less-than-thrilled audiences in February 2002. Director Andrew Davis ("The Fugitive", "Under Seige") has fashioned a vehicle perfect for Arnold. It's an R-rated movie as well, giving arnold plenty of chances to really kick butt. Yet, remarkably, he is fairly restrained. He does kick butt, but in a far more discriminating manner. Firefighter Gordon Brewer is plunged into the complex and dangerous world of international terrorism after he loses his wife and child in a bombing credited to Claudio "The Wolf" Perrini. Frustrated with the official investigation and haunted by the thought that the man responsible for murdering his family might never be brought to justice, Brewer takes matters into his own hands and tracks his quarry ultimately to Colombia. This is Arnold back where he shines. It's not quite essential viewing but it is enjoyable to see him do what he does best - and that's entertain us with perfect escapism. Arnold has both "True Lies 2" and "Terminotor 3" coming soon - I have a feeling he'll be back on top again shortly...
119 Minutes
Warner Bros.