Stars: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, John Turturro, Cliff Curtis, Francesca Neri, John Leguizamo, John Leguizamo

Director: Andrew Davis

Summary: A fireman who loses his wife and child in an act of terrorism vows to track the culprit down himself...

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.

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Didn't the Arnold Schwarzenegger tough-guy role become outdated way back in the mid-90s?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 Damagewould 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 Lifeto 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 Damageon 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

Aspect Ratio:	1.85 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Commentary Andrew Davis Arnold Schwarzenegger, Documentaries, Additional Scenes, Trailer
Subtitles:	Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, English, Finnish, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish
Year:	2002
Release Date:	October 7, 2002
Runtime:	104 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	D 021324
Keywords:	Action, English, Damage, General, Adventure, Terrorism, Collateral
Genre:	Action/Adventure