...a would-be story of heroism that suspends genuine nobility for halfhearted revenge and logical details for transparent manipulations.
Collateral Damage (2002)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:141
Fresh:25
Rotten:116
Average Rating:4/10
Consensus: Despite its timely subject matter, Collateral Damage is an unexceptional and formulaic action thriller.
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for violence and some language
Runtime: 1 hr 49 mins
Genre: Action/Adventure
Theatrical Release:Feb 8, 2002 Wide
Box Office: $39,965,988
Synopsis: Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a lone Los Angeles fireman whose wife and child are killed by a terrorist bomb in this eerily prescient action drama. Vowing revenge against the Columbian guerilla... Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a lone Los Angeles fireman whose wife and child are killed by a terrorist bomb in this eerily prescient action drama. Vowing revenge against the Columbian guerilla leader who set the bomb, Gordy Brewer (Schwarzenegger) heads down to Central America where he is soon caught in a crossfire between the terrorists and a cadre of CIA operatives led by hard-nosed agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas). Escaping prisons, diving off waterfalls, and biting off ears, Gordy seems unstoppable until he realizes his target has a wife and child of his own, and moral confusion sets in. Action fans expecting typical brainless mayhem might be surprised to find emoting, ethical dilemmas and criticism of US foreign policy in an Arnold vehicle, but they needn't worry: he still finds time for plenty of bone-breaking and blowing things up before the credits roll. Gorgeous Italian actress Francesca Neri (LIVE FLESH) is a major asset as the terrorist's wife. Andrew Davis (THE FUGITIVE) directed the film. Though it has nothing to do with the actual terrorist attack on America or political events in the Middle East, this film's mix of firemen, grief, and terrorism may still strike a sensitive nerve in some viewers. [More]
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, John Leguizamo
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, John Leguizamo, John Turturro, Cliff Curtis
Director: Andrew Davis
Director: Andrew Davis
Screenwriter: David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths
Producer: Steven Reuther, David Foster
Composer: Graeme Revell
Studio: Warner Bros.
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Reviews for Collateral Damage
The only one that can do damage in the collateral sense are indifferent, undemanding moviegoers willing to embrace an unpalatable and choppy absurd fantasy over an overwhelming and disheartening reality.
If you are still quaking with rage at 9/11/01, go ahead and rent it, & just try not to ask too many questions. It might make you feel a little better.
Yet another Arnold vehicle that fails to make adequate use of his particular talents.
Reduces itself to a highly simplified story about an overly aggressive victim, who is conveniently empowered to carry out extraordinary tasks in unknown territories.
Rarely has reality upstaged reel life so profoundly and rendered it so dated and impotent so quickly.
Collateral Damage works on a level of wish-fulfillment. I say, put Arnie on a plane to Afghanistan now.
Like the excruciating End of Days, Collateral Damage presents Schwarzenegger as a tragic figure, but sympathy really belongs with any viewer forced to watch him try out so many complicated facial expressions.
Schwarzenegger tries hard to act but in the end the foolishness of the thriller formula becomes ridiculous.
While it certainly would not hold an aura of freshness in any climate, on the fairly unpretentious terms on which it operates, the film does what it sets out to do.
If you go with your heart, you'll probably enjoy this adrenaline-pumping combination of an Arnold Schwarzenegger action flick and an anti-terrorist missive.
This is the sort of burly action flick where one coincidence pummels another, narrative necessity is a drunken roundhouse, and whatever passes for logic is a factor of the last plot device left standing.
Latest News for Collateral Damage
September 28, 2006:
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August 29, 2001:
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as a firefighter who hunts down the terrorist who murdered his wife and child. ![]()
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