Collateral Damage (2002)

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writers (WGA):

Ronald Roose (story) and
David Griffiths (story) ...

Release Date:

8 February 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller

Tagline:

The Act Itself Wasn't Personal...HIS VENGEANCE WILL BE [UK tag-line]

Plot:

After his family is killed by a terrorist act, a firefighter goes in search of the one responsible.

Plot Keywords:

Colombia | Explosion | Terrorism | Dead Woman On Floor | Roadblock

Cast

Arnold Schwarzenegger	...	Gordy Brewer
Francesca Neri	...	Selena Perrini
Elias Koteas	...	Peter Brandt
Cliff Curtis	...	Claudio Perrini
John Leguizamo	...	Felix Ramirez
John Turturro	...	Sean Armstrong
Jsu Garcia	...	Roman
Tyler Posey	...	Mauro (as Tyler Garcia Posey)
Michael Milhoan	...	Jack
Rick Worthy	...	Ronnie
Raymond Cruz	...	Junior
Lindsay Frost	...	Anne Brewer
Ethan Dampf	...	Matt Brewer
Jorge Zepeda	...	Rocha
Miguel Sandoval	...	Joe Phipps

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and some language.

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #38392) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:16 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Singapore:PG | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

The movie was supposed to include the famous Colombian actress Sofía Vergara, who played an airplane hijacker. But after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attack, the scene where Vergara would hijack a plane was scratched from the movie. Moreover, scenes which might be considered unpatriotic have been excluded.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The terrorist group's banner with the letters ALC and an outline of the Colombia is incorrect. The letter A is for Army, but the Spanish word for Army , Ejercito, starts with an E.

Quotes:

[as Armstrong notices Guerillas]
Sean Armstrong: Don't even look at those guys unless you can kill 'em.

Movie Connections:

References The Girl Hunters (1963)

Soundtrack:

Chegando Devagar

Entertaining, As Always, Especially With Francesca Neri

Yes, another typical Arnold Schwarnegger film which translates to (a) interesting all the way; (b) very violent; (c) very far-fetched. Here, Arnold is just a plain old fireman but he turns into superhero, doing things only Superman or Batman could accomplish....but it's still fun to watch.

After seeing his wife and kid blown up by Columbian terrorists, Arnold goes after the latter, traveling to the jungles of that South American country and taking them on! In the end, he's in Washington trying to diffuse another terrorist plot. He's amazing. What CAN'T this guy do? Yes, it's ludicrous....but it's not meant to be taken seriously, folks! It's just entertainment for fans of action movies, nothing more.

There is a nice twist at the end of this story and it involves a very intriguing-looking woman, Francesco Neri. I just love that woman's face: very sexy, especially for someone her age. She's also in "Hannibal" but I think the rest of her films are Italian. I would like to see more of her work.

There are also some short appearances by two always-entertaining actors, John Turturro and John Leguizimo. Scharwarznegger's action films usually have a fair amount of tongue-in-cheek humor and those two actors help along those lines in this film.

Elias Koteas plays the too-gung-ho FBI guy. Hollywood just will not portray an FBI, CIA, DEA, or any government agent in a positive manner. That would offend their liberal peers in the movie business, so Koteas plays the lawman you can't trust in this movie. In fact, they make it so you don't know if you can trust anyone in the government, which also is typical Hollywood fare.

Don't believe the national critics, however, if they panned this film. It's two hours of good escapist fare.