In association with

Collateral Damage [2002]
from Warner Home Video
starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Leguizamo, Francesca Neri, Elias Koteas, Cliff Curtis
directed by Andrew Davis

Features:

• Dubbed
• PAL
• Widescreen

Editorial Review:

Didn't the Arnold Schwarzenegger tough-guy role become outdated way back in the mid-90s? Aren't audiences tired of all this stuff by now? Collateral Damage would have you believe not. Within minutes we see the Austrian Oak in fire-fighter's uniform running to the rescue in cheesy slo-mo. Arnie's two-dimensional character seems a little archaic and so does the revenge-for-the-death-of-his-wife-and-child plot. Someone apparently thought that applying the politics of terrorism addressed in Proof of Life to the Arnie shootout genre was a good idea. Yet here even the Colombian bad guys' motivations seem muddled and hastily obscured under bullet-quick exposition. It's also no good trying to show the muscle man in a different light: so what if he mopes about with a tear in his eye for 20 minutes, we all know he's going to take the law into his hands soon enough. This he does with familiar gusto, of course. Fights and explosions ensue. Johns Leguizamo and Turturro provide comical cameos but add nothing more. The film's release was delayed so as not to offend anyone in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Who were they kidding? No-one ever took an Arnie movie seriously, least of all this one.

On the DVD: Collateral Damage on disc has a couple of documentaries that try to embellish the idea of Schwarzenegger's new on-screen persona, but neither succeed. The additional scenes deserved to be excised. The commentary from director Andrew Davis certainly hints at greater aspirations, but makes no apology for the lack of pay-off. There's supposed to be a DVD-ROM-only commentary from Schwarzenegger, too, but this reviewer couldn't find it anywhere. --Paul Tonks

Customer Reviews:

• Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0

• LA Fireman takes on the terrorists
  LA Fireman takes on the terrorists
  I have never particularly keen a fan of Arnie films. They are too Hollywood and fantastical
  I watched this as I was waiting for something else to come on
  The story took off after a fireman loses his wife and child in a terrorist attack in Los Angeles. We are told the film was made before 9/11.
  The US at that time did not have the full range of enemies it seems to have today so they picked on Colombians. The plot is preposterous in that an aged fireman... more info

• 'I'm being mean here!'
  I really liked the movie, first seeing it on live TV.
  I thought the plot was well thought up, and the actors were extremely convincing.
  The twists that take place in this movie get you annoyed with yourself, not being able to figure out why you couldn't guess it was going to happen.
  I've got nothing more to say about this movie....!
  I'm being mean here! Cause when i bought it on dvd, not off amazon :s, for some reason the disc wasnt good and 1 or 2 scenes dont work...
  But that aint... more info

• What happened to Arnie?
  Collateral Damage or whatever happened to Arnold Schwarzenegger's career? It's hard to say, but this is probably one of the worst films he's done (and let's face it, he's done some rubbish). Now don't get me wrong, I'm a big Arnie fan, but even I don't like this one.
  Delayed at release after the September 11th bombings, you wonder why this was ever released at all. But then again, it does do something the American's like to think themselves capable of - taking down a whole terrorist organisation with... more info

• Hmmmm......great if you like Arnie!
  This movie is not impressive. Classic Arnie movie, high body count, but a thin script, slightly far fetched action (which most of us love from time to time) After watching this film I was left with a feeling of "seen it all before". What was good about this film? Well its a good movie if you like light entertainment with some heavy action scenes, and dont want to exert your brain cells. Very much the John Wayne effect at work here - same man, same part, but different story in each film. A must for all your... more info

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