Sabotage

 SABOTAGE

Director : David Ayer
Year : 2014
Genre : Thriller
Rating : ***1/2

 

With a career spanning four decades and having appeared in over 50 films, there are certain things we have now come to expect from an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie; overbloated action, overacting and a heaping helping of terrible puns for starters. However, sometimes he can surprise us from time to time and while his latest movie 'Sabotage' may be full of action and non stop thrills, it is more engrossing and much more intense than a large majority of the former Mr. Universe's filmography.

Directed by David Ayer (best known for writing 'Training Day' and helming 'End Of Watch'), 'Sabotage' tells the story of a group of DEA agents who are individually killed off  when $10m goes mysteriously missing after a  drug bust. Is this the revenge of the cartel or is there a traitor in the groups midst? Headed by John 'Breacher' Wharton (Schwarzenegger playing his 4th character named John in film), the group consists of a number of agents played by Sam Worthington, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway and Mirielle Enos who all work very well together and have a lot of believable chemistry; whether it be amicable or slightly hostile. Schwarzenegger himself is given a lot more room to act in this film than he has in many of his post-political works and while his performance in 'Sabotage' is nothing extraordinary, Schwarzenegger still brings a lot of avuncular charisma and macho charm to his role; making this his best movie in years. Working alongside Schwarzenegger is an FBI agent played by one of my favourite British actresses Olivia Williams and she delivers yet another strong and dedicated performance to the screen.

Surprisingly for a pretty average nuts and bolts cop thriller, 'Sabotage' is uncommonly graphic in it's depiction of violence. With scenes of multiple stabbings, shootings and even some gruesome autopsies, 'Sabotage' is much more intense and overbearing than one might expect, especially for a movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. There is little room for laughs here and while the script may have one or two moments of playful banter between characters, 'Sabotage' is, for the most part, a gritty and visceral crime thriller that plays itself dead straight. I myself was taken back by the sudden explosion of bloody violence that would unexpectedly erupt on to the screen when a character is shot in the head or stabbed in the chest and while I have no problem with blood or gore whatsoever, I still found myself cringing and wincing at some of the more painful moments of bodily pain. 

Barely making back half of it's budget, 'Sabotage' is the lowest opener for an Arnold Schwarzenegger film in nearly 30 years. Not surprising as critics have come down on this film like a ton of bricks and honestly, I don't know why this is. It may be conventional and the screenplay written by Skip Woods may lack the heft and the emotionality needed to really allow the characters and situations to feel three dimensional but nonetheless, I was still thoroughly entertained throughout; from it's shockingly graphic introduction to it's predictable but wholly satisfying finale. I still prefer The Austrian Oak in more laid back fare such as 'Kindergarten Cop', 'Total Recall' and even 'The Last Stand' but I sincerely hope that he takes on more serious roles like this in the future because I do believe that underneath the bulging muscles and deep Austrian dialect, there is a pretty good actor bursting to get out.