Collateral Damage

Plot synopsis:
The film opens with LAFD firefighter Captain Gordon "Gordy" Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and his fellow firefighters rescues the people who trap inside the burning building. After they rescued the old woman, Brewer is caught in an explosion.Cut to a scene where Brewer teaches his son on how to play a toy plane and they plan to meet his son, Matt and wife, Anne in downtown Los Angeles.The wife and his son goes to the downtown and they wait for Brewer's arrival. Meanwhile the man (who later revealed as the terrorist) disguises as the police officer parks his police motorcycle in front of the Colombian Consulate and the convoy of Colombian officials and American intelligence agents arrive at the consulate. Brewer arrives at the place and he informs the man to pick up his family. As Brewer is about to pick up his family, the bomb in the police motorcycle explodes, killing nearby innocent civilians, the officials, and including his son and wife then Brewer is being hit by a taxi, injuring him.Later, Brewer is traumatized when his family is killed in an explosion. The FBI states that 24 people injured, 9 people dead including those mention above and the explosion is a terrorism act. Brewer is brought to a hospital and removes some shrapnel out of his body. Suddenly, Brewer realize that the man who disguises as the police officer he met before an explosion is the responsible for the attack and the FBI officers tries to thwart him.A tape is sent to the U.S. State Department, in which a man pretends as police officer calling himself "El Lobo" (The Wolf) claims responsibility for the bombing, explaining it was in retaliation for America's oppression of Colombia. The FBI believes El Lobo is a Colombian terrorist named Claudio Perrini (Cliff Curtis), the man disguises as police officer who was there in an explosion.At his home, Brewer receives a message on the phone from Ken Barnett of Lateline and he's invited to tell his story about the incident at the studio and pounds the phone. Shortly, the news airs the videotape from El Lobo, claiming the responsibility of the explosion. Also, it claims that they bombed at least 7 places, including the most recent bombing is the Colombian Consulate in Los Angeles. On the TV, we see only the terrorist in silhouette and lower-pitched voice saying that the bombing was an act of self-defense against American war criminals, also, if the Americans continue aggression towards the Colombian, they will bring war to them. The terrorist concludes that Colombia is not their country and has to get out now and make a gesture means "Sangre o Libertad" ("blood or freedom"). After that, Brewer becomes furious when the reporter mentions the killing of his family and Latin American Solitary Committee Mr. Ortiz calls "collateral damage".Brewer then breaks furiously inside the newsroom and begins wild and whacking anything with a baseball bat. A few minutes later, the FBI officers arrive and incapacitate him with an electric gun. Later, Brewer is brought to the FBI and he will not arrest him because Mr. Ortiz dropped the charges on him. Agent Phipps (Miguel Sandoval) ensures that The Wolf is back in Colombia.CIA Special Agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas), the Colombia Station Chief, is harshly reprimanded for the incident by a Senate Oversight Committee, who promptly terminate all CIA operations in Colombia. Brandt angrily returns to Mompós and meets with his paramilitary allies to plan a major offensive to take down Claudio and his guerilla forces. At Brewer's home, Ed advices to him on how to get inside Colombia.Brewer goes to Mompos, Colombia in order to track down Claudio. First, he gets to the bus and the next morning, the bus suddenly stops when the guerrillas stopped every vehicle on the road and begins checking anything on them. In order to not being seen by the guerrillas, all the passengers inside the bus have to get out and hides beside the running bus. As the passengers running towards the forest, the guerrillas sees them running and begins firing at them, killing some of them. The three girls are being confronted by one of the guerrillas but Brewer subdue him and the three escapes. The guerrillas pursue Brewer until he outruns the guerrillas by jumping off the river. The guerrillas found the Brewer's bag that he left behind before he jumps off, containing his passport.The men presents the copy of Brewer's passport to Brandt and alerts them for Brewer's presents. At the same at the guerrilla camp, Roman presents the copy of Brewer's passport to Claudio and they want to capture him and once they capture Brewer, they will hold a ransom.Brewer goes to Mompos harbor then to the carnival. Brewer sees the motorcycle is about to run towards the boy named Mauro but his mother named Selena pulled him out. After that, Brewer is arrested for entering the country illegally.At the prison, he meet Canadian mechanic Sean Armstrong (John Turturro) and wanted him the pass for guerrilla zone but he refuses. Later at night, the guerrilla troops alerted the prison with the loud horn before they fire a mortar on the prison. There, Claudio and his fellow guerrilla manages to kill the police officers and free the prisoners out. Brewer sees Claudio at the second time. Brewer incapacitates one of the troops and obtains the circular saw they used to free the prisoners. Brewer frees the other prisoners and he will not free Sean unless he give the pass to him. Sean gives the pass to Brewer and frees him. After that, Sean retired as a mechanic and he tells him to get the harbor, once he get to San Pablo, he will ask for Felix Ramirez (John Leguizamo), a drug runner. Also, he tells that Brewer is the replacement of Sean.Brewer goes to the upriver and through the mangrove forest. There, he sees the dead men and the indigenous people. Later, the guerrillas stops the boat and asks them for Felix. Once he get there, Brewer pretends as the mechanic and falsely introduced Felix and one of the guerrillas as "Heinrich Beckmann". Brewer and Felix goes to the facility and he pretending to be a mechanic hired to fix a generator, Brewer rigs several improvised explosives.Claudio and his troops confronts one of the guerrillas whom he met "Beckmann". He did not realize that "Beckmann" is actually Brewer and he made a mistake. The guerrillas forces the man to open his mouth with a metal brace and chokes him with the coral snake, killing him. Claudio tells them to find Brewer.Meanwhile, Brewer still continue making improvised explosives. At night, the guerrillas arrive to find Brewer and tells Felix where Brewer is. Brewer sees them and throws a Molotov cocktail right in front of them and destroying the facility in the process. Roman then shots Felix and dies in front of Brewer hiding under the truck.The truck heads to Claudio's headquarters. Brewer then infiltrates Claudio's headquarters and plants a grenade in the gas tank, but is captured when he tries to prevent a woman named Selena (Francesca Neri) from being caught in the blast radius along with her son, Mauro. At Claudio's home compound, Selena reveals that she is Claudio's wife and that she and Claudio once lost their own child during an attack by American forces, which compelled Claudio to become a terrorist and fight back, while Selena found and adopted Mauro, whose parents were killed in the attack.Meanwhile, Brandt's unit locates Claudio's compound and launches an attack. During the ensuing shootout, Roman and his fellow guerrillas are killed in the process while Selena helps free Brewer. Brewer sees the landmine set in the forest and clears it before they step through. Brewer fights one of the Brandt's unit until he getting blown by landmine. After that, Brewer meet Brandt for the first time in Colombia and he explains that The Wolf is gone to Washington D.C. to blow another building and Selena and her son will come to identify the target.Claudio arrives at Washington D.C, at the same time with Brewer, Selena and her son. The lower-pitched voice over of the terrorist saying about a bomb has been planted in Washington D.C., at the time they hear the message it is too late for them to find it. Claudio leaves the briefcase at Union Station which is contained to be a bomb, then an old man picked the briefcase and try to open it. At Dulles State Department Annex, Selena identifies Union Station as the target. On the pretense of using the restroom, Selena informs the State Department employee to come along and when Mauro refuses to come with her, she becomes irritated. Brewer recognizes Selena make the same gesture and the words "sangre o libertad" as the masked man claiming to be El Lobo made in the tape, and realizes that she was the Wolf all along, with Claudio serving as her figurehead. Brewer comes to find Selena. As the officers raid the old man with the briefcase, it turns out empty.Selena then kills one of the State Department employee inside the restroom by snapping her neck. Brewer sees Selena dialing in her cell phone (which he realize that she was there at the time of explosion in L.A. and she was using a cell phone to activate the bomb) and pursues her but fall short when she enters the elevator and kills a man inside. Furthermore, Brewer surmises the real target is the State Department. Brewer quickly throws Mauro's toy dinosaur, which is carrying a bomb, out a window moments before it explodes. Brandt, realizing Brewer's suspicions, is shot and killed trying to stop Selena from fleeing the building.Meanwhile, the second bomb set inside the truck at the basement.Brandt, realizing Brewer's suspicions, is shot in the head while trying to stop Selena from fleeing the building. Brewer opens the elevator door and jumps off the shaft where Selena is in there and she managed to get out before Brewer get in. Selena then subdues Brewer and then she gets out of the shaft. Brewer chases Selena to the basement of the building where she and Claudio ride off through the underground tunnels on a motorcycle. Brewer finds the tunnel control console and shuts the gates, preventing their escape. Brewer chops open some gas lines along the walls of the tunnel and, as they ride back, Selena shoots at Brewer, igniting the gas. Brewer jumps through a doorway just as the entire tunnel explodes. Selena and Claudio survive the blast, however, Claudio and Selena attack him simultaneously. After a short, hand to hand fight, Selena is electrocuted by being tossed on the exposed circuitry of the control panel. Claudio incapacitates Brewer, then just before he detonates the second bomb using his cell phone, Brewer throws an ax on Claudio's chest, finally killing him.In the aftermath, Brewer carries Mauro in his arms as they leave the State Department. A newscast voice-over explains that Brewer will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom for preventing one of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history from taking place.

Tags: revenge, comedy, murder, violence

Review:
This is the Governator kicking some major butt like he did in True Lies, Commando, and many other movies that you and I watch over and over.Italian actress Neri (Live Flesh) is hot, Curtis (Whale Rider) makes a perfect terrorist, and one of my favorites, John Leguizamo (Land of the Dead), plays a great part.
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!
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.
The sad but obvious explanation is that, as he's aged, Arnold has had to make way for younger, more dynamic action stars, leaving him stuck with leftover crumbs like `Collateral Damage,' a dull, lackluster action film that manages to kick itself into high gear only in its final half hour or so.
We expect Arnold to run into a terrorist compound in the jungle, guns blazing, unlimited explosives, managing to not get hit by gunfire even while standing still in the middle of a field, one-liners running like water...But THAT movie was "Commando".
STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All CostsIt's easy to see why this was postponed because of September 11 (even the terrorist group in the film ALC only needs IADA put on the end of it).What's hard to understand is how Collateral Damage got released at all.It's hard to believe this film is directed by Andrew Davis,the director of such action greats as The Fugitive,Under Siege and Nico.Ageing action man Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Gordy Brewer ,the most ridiculously named action character ever,who goes to Columbia to seek revenge on El Lobo,the terrorist mastermind who killed his wife and child with a bomb blast on the Anti-Terrorism Agency in New York.The story is poor (how can a fireman have so much knowledge on how to locate and take out master terrorists?)as is the character development,and in fact,so is the action.Truly run-of-the-mill stuff and nothing that hasn't been done to better and much more impacting effect in previous films of this type.For this,54 year old Arnie still has impressive biceps,and things do heat up a bit at the end.But overall,on the basis of this and his previous films,one thinks the Arn ought to think about retiring from film and trying harder to become mayor of California.**.
Definitely the most memorable character of the movie.So, we have good acting, good entertainment, stupid action, a stupid end and some reasonably intelligent bit somewhere along the way.
The pace is fast and the effects plentiful!There are a few logical problems, like why is it the fireman, among thousands of security personnel in DC, that is the only one going after the killer, when the latter is trying to turn DC into an inferno?!Lots of good actors, nice cinematography and special effects, in short better than average, but the misses are sometimes bad, like not getting Colombia's map correct!
Had the film been released at its intended date, it could've held more meaning and may have even been "forgiven" for being rather dull and unmemorable, due to leading man Schwarzenegger's ever-increasingly-fading action star status.The film, textbook Arnold Schwarzenegger, has one major flaw: Arnie's getting old.
Had the film been released as coincidentally intended almost immediately after 9/11 (and really, the fact that it was "too controversial" at the time is rather ludicrous, since the explosion from the beginning and the explosion averted at the end are nowhere near on level with the events of 9/11, unless the controversy referred to was the admission of the U.S. causing the trouble in Columbia), it would've no doubt gained at least a low level of appreciation just because Arnie kills some terrorists.
The story worked for me, Cliff Curtis was good as the villain, Arnold was great, the twist at the end was nice, the action scenes were fun, and altogether I think it's a very solid movie.For me, Collateral Damage & End of Days are the only Schwarzenegger movies where he actually gives a acting performance.
Collateral Damage is above average action thriller very underrated from the early 2002 people just hate this movie I loved it, This movie rules!Great movie if you like Arnold Schwarzenegger I would recommend this movie if you like a lot of action packed scenes and explosions.
But otherwise, director Andrew Davis' (Above the Law) Collateral Damage plays as a fun and superficially routine Action flick that's full of explosions and gunfire but that goes above and beyond the call of duty, crafting a surprisingly deep plot, one with a rather heavy emotional undercurrent -- even beyond the loss of the main characters' family -- and a few quality twists and turns that keep the movie fresh and its landscape always evolving.
Frustrated with the official investigation and haunted by the thought that the man responsible for murdering his family might never be brought to justice, Brewer takes matters into his own hands and tracks his quarry ultimately to Colombia.After his family is killed by a terrorist act, a firefighter goes in search of the one responsible.I love this Action flick How Arnold went on his own in to the jungle of Colombia to find the terrorists responsible for his family murder.
I don't care about the new movies Arnold is doing today they are all crap, Escape Plan and The Last Stand are his last films that were really good to watch, the rest of the films he did weren't.
I love the action scenes the explosion in all movies Arnold kills the bad guys with guns and knives.
The film tells the story of Los Angeles firefighter, Gordon Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who looks to avenge his son and wife's death at the hands of a guerrilla commando, by traveling to Colombia and facing his family's killers.
Collateral Damage is a 2002 American action film directed by Andrew Davis, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Elias Koteas, Francesca Neri, Cliff Curtis, John Leguizamo and John Turturro.
The action sequences involving Arnold take place mostly near the end of the movie, the best of which, unfortunately undercuts the message of this film.
Arnie's back and with plot holes galore, a very HOLLYWOOD version of "the grieving fireman" , filled with tones of acting, fx and script problems, this movie just mindless action.Laughing at the absurdity of this is this only saving grace1 star..
This film is a decent action thriller with an implausible plot that seemed tailor-made for star Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Suggestions that talks and peace are the way ahead are dismissed; any discussion over "why" is brushed away by Brewer in his meeting with the terrorist leader and, at the end of the day, fighting terrorism is one big action movie where the good guys win and the sinister bad guys always lose.
OK, if you want to see things go bang and non-white terrorists being beaten by American might then you may get something from it but for me it was just one big collection of action movies clichés wheeled out one after the other until I just couldn't care any more.The cast do nothing to help matters even though there are a number of well known people involved.
There are a handful of other recognisable faces floating around but none of them do much so I won't waste my time.Overall, looking at this film as an action movie it is messy, uninvolving, dull, lifeless and soaked in more clichés than can be good for anyone.
With this difficult issue (and don't forget terrorist murders didn't start in September 2001) the film makes such a pathetic case that it is hard to stomach  it made me watch the film right to the end but only because I really couldn't believe that anyone thought this would be a good story to tell  even more so surprising that such an insensitive, jingoistic and simplistic view of the world could be presented after America itself found out what a complex issue it is.
Original and trend setting story's could be seen in many of Arnolds early films, like Terminator, Conan, Running Man and the most typical Arnold-movie of all time; Commando.
After many long years, and several very stupid roles, Arnold has finally made a film that his long time fans will come to appreciate...Collateral Damage.
After the US government obviously has no plans to help out his cause, he takes the law into his own hands and seeks out those responsible for the death of his family.Sure, the plot sounds like a standard Arnold film, and alot of the action is totally unrealistic, however, the story is very well written, and has certain plot twists that I definately did not see coming.This film reminds me alot of Commando.
OK, so there have been other Arnold films with that setup, but if "Collateral Damage" were more entertaining I would've overlooked the goofs in the plot.I would consider this a low point in Arnold's career, though most say "End of Days" is his worst flick.
In all honesty, Arnold is one of the best actors Hollywood has seen and even borders on real heroism with all his charitable works and the inspiration he provides for countless people.With that out of the way, I must say that I absolutely loved Collateral Damage.
It had action, drama, REALLY cool plot twists, and amazing acting by Arnold (Yes, that's right, I said it...go ahead and send me hate e-mails about how stupid I am for thinking that, I stand by my statement).
This movie never went beyond reality, sure there were many explosions and gun fights but the director seemed to be trying hard to keep a reality level of good guy/bad guy action throughout.The scenes went from the bustling city center to the dense quiet of jungle keeping good visual variety.The acting was all decent and even at my critical best I did not have any problems with it.
Even when released finally in 2002, the big budgeted action sequences did not succeed in making the film a decent box-office success.It was also Arnold Schwarzenegger's last few films before he ran for Governor, and in this film, he plays yet another heroic figure, a fireman called Gordy Brewer whose intrinsic responsibility is to save lives.
The movie has a very good point, and Arnold did his best acting ever in the film - even if you don't care for his other work, this one will surprise you.
This movie was okay,not the worst,not the best.First,the good,the story,well it is generic,it is well executed and it has a few good twists and turns.The pacing,the movie went by fast,but not too fast.The villains,they weren't amazing,but they were well written,they were intimidating and brutal,but you could understand were they were coming from,which was unexpected from an Arnold Schwarznegger movie.The climax,well not the best,was exciting and suspenseful.The best part though,was Arnold himself,well he does have to act through some bad dialogue,he was entertaining,and in a great twist,Arnold isn't an invincible badass,he gets hurt and fails to save people.Now,the bad,as I said,some of the dialogue is really stupid and cheesy.Even though this movie is kind of serious,there are some dumb moments that feel very out of place and take away from scenes that should be serious.The action,it runs a bit too short,and feels very repetitive,there's some shooting,and then too many explosions,excluding the climax.In the end,Collateral Damage has good villains and some good twists,but suffers from weak action,and bad scripting..
Not the Action Film of Old. After his family is killed by a terrorist act, a firefighter (Arnold Governator) goes in search of the one responsible.What makes this film worthwhile are these two supporting actor: Elias Koteas and John Turturro.
Collateral Damage is a good movie with a good set up but definitely could have been so much better than it ended up being.Arnold Schwarzenegger and Francesca Neri both put in a good performances but the rest of the cast really don't deliver.My biggest problem with the movie was the character development,mainly Gordy's son and wife,I knew going in to this movie that they were going to die,but we should have gotten to know a bit about them before they get killed,they literally die after two scenes of the movie,and then Schwarzenegger spends the rest of the movie seeking revenge because of the death of two people we weren't given enough time to care about.The twist at the end is very good and unexpected,you definitely won't see it coming,I won't say what happens, but the way Gordy finds out didn't make any sense.If your a big fan of Schwarzenegger,you should probably check it out for his sake,but Collateral Damage is not an action or drama I would highly recommend.
After his family is killed in a terrorist attack, and the government fails to rectify the situation, Arnie takes matters into his own hands, setting out to Colombia where he intends to take down El Lobo (Cliff Curtis), the man responsible for his loss.Released in the wake of the 9/11 attacks, "Collateral Damage" suffered massive cuts and re-shoots and it shows in the final product.
The second to last film Arnold would star in before becoming The Governator, "Collateral Damage" is on the lower end of his action oeuvre, but is certainly a more respectable effort than, say, "Junior" or "Jingle All The Way.".
This is a terrific action film that delivers on all levels-plot twists, great acting by all characters, and in pure Arnold style; satisfying conclusion.
I was totally surprised at the end, when I found out who was the real person responsible for the bombs.And yes, a terrorist would blow up their own son or daughter for the better good (to blow up the FBI headquarters).The only thing that surprised me about this movie was how old Arnold looked.
The movie tries so hard to make Gordy look like a "normal" person with a job as a fireman, yet the lengths he goes for vengeance is almost limitless and pretty darn unconvincing.The stunts were great, the action scenes satisfying but not unusual, and the acting wasn't bad.
I don't think that scene was intended to be funny but I just couldn't help but chuckle to myself seeing the big guy take a baseball bat to a bunch of office equipment repeating "here's your collateral Damage."Although it's not Rambo or Terminator it's just the missing link that will quench that mysteruos thirst for seeing things blow up and even though director Andrew Davis is trying to make the film more than it is by saying after the 9/11 attacks that this really shows both sides of terrorism and what really makes a hero and blah blah blah, if he wanted to make a film with a message he should have cast Denzel Washington, but this is Schwarzenegger baby and I'm only here to see some s**t blow up, if you want to pick this apart and give everything a meaning than you shouldn't be watching this in the first place..
Collateral Damage is an action movie with a serious side.Arnold Schwarzenegger turns in a fine performance,as Gordy Brewer,the fireman who seeks revenge against the terrorist that killed his wife and son.Cliff Curtis makes a terrific villain.Elias Koteas is also good as the unlikeable fed.Andrew Davis directs ably.I agree with their decision to hold the release back due to 9/11.It is a  good action movie.I like Arnold holding back his violence when he sees a child,and the twist at the end nailed me.
In "Collateral Damage" Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Los Angeles fireman Gordy Brewer, a man who loses everything he ever cared about the day hes running late to meet his wife and young son and they are killed by a terrorist explosion.
Arnold Arnold,poor chap once he was the biggest thing to hit the big screen with action but today he's struggling to please even his hard core fans.I need not remind you how badly the 6th day turned out I mean the worst execution I have seen from a Director!The End Of Days was not that great either.So it seems that it's about time he made a comeback but this movie isn't the answer either,you see the problem here is Arnold is too soft and the action seems relatively mild compared with True Lies(SUPERB) and Total Recall(very violent).The movie is directed by Andrew Davis who is better known for The Fugative and Under Siege.I liked the message in this movie where terrorists are actually smarter than we think and the final plot twists but Arnold unfortunately doesn't get to do soo much and this makes the movie rather empty.The Big Dude does not act like he knows everything and that is good shows he's heading in the direction of veteran action stars like Connery and Eastwood where they talk less and give more presence.I did not like the supporting cast very much either and maybe it again had something to do with the fact that they were not allowed to talk and the leading terrorist is not effective and he looks really bad.The action scenes are superb and they are cut very well to fit the story so whenever you see the action the film does not let you down.I wish if it was more violent and moved a bit faster.I do disagree with most reviews who say that this film is typical Arnie movie it's a lot better and I think the big guy will do much better with Terminator 3 and True Lies 2..
okay, not a lot of people liked this movie, but i saw it as a return to good old arnold stuff with some new surprises thrown in.