Collateral Damage [Blu-ray]

Arnold's most human role ever
Let's face it. In the 80's and early 90's, when you went to see an Arnold movie, what did you expect? He was some super-hero that was unstoppable. He wasn't your average, every-day Joe on the street. You KNEW he was going to do something so out-of-the-ordinary, but it was still so much fun to watch. The human element of his character was generally never taken into account or necessary.

I think with End Of Days, we got to see Arnold play a character that was NOT superhuman. Many people (and critics) panned this movie. I loved it. I thought it was excellent and it allowed Arnold to show more emotions than he did in previous movies. Plus, he wasn't some superhero cop. He was actually a down-and-out drunk.

Then came The 6th Day. Again, Arnold was allowed to show some emotions that came from having your life ripped away from you. In this case, he was a man who ran a legit transportation business, taking people up to the mountains to snow board down from.

Now comes Collateral Damage...

Solid action movie on a great DVD.
I walked into the theatre to see "Collateral Damage" for no other reason than to be entertained, and give the movie credit, it was very entertaining despite Arnold's hilariously implausible character. I wasn't aware that all firemen were made to through a Green Beret or SWAT program, because he looks like he's taken a few courses in each. Gordon Brewer (Schwarzengger) handles guns, axes, and knives in style like he's been doing it for years, but since this is an Arnold film I'm able to forgive his characters which frequently defy all belief.

In a nutshell this movie is about Brewer's revenge scheme as he hunts down the terrorists who killed his wife and child in a bombing, and tries to stop him before he strikes again. The plot isn't great, what with a fireman somehow breaking into a guerrillas home and all, but director Andrew Davis keeps the film going at a brisk pace, and it's never boring. The DVD quality is also very fine with some good features, and if you're an action movie...

Surprisingly a very good action movie.
"Collateral Damage" (2002)

The released date for this film was delayed after the tragic September 11 attacks on the World Trade Centre. I had heard quite a bit about the movie and was generally looking forward to it because I enjoyed The 6th Day, Arnie's last effort. I didn't expect it to be a life-changing experience to free our fear from terrorists after the horrific events of 9/11, but I expected to be entertained.

This movie far succeeded my expectations. It's more intelligent, more entertaining, more interesting, more original, more well-acted than I could ever expect. Of course one thing that did disappoint me was once again Arnie went completely soft and the motivations are all good-willed and stuff, he's not a cool bad[boy] anymore! However he still makes for a decent watch, also giving in a great performance as Gordon, our main man. Schwarzenegger was able to portray the tense expressions and great action stunts as well expect from him. But he also turned in what I found...

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