SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: COLLATERAL DAMAGE

"COLLATERAL DAMAGE"
(2002) (Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cliff Curtis) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Moderate	Moderate	Extreme	Heavy	Extreme

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Mild	Extreme	None	Heavy

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Mild	Moderate	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Action/Drama: After his wife and son are killed in a foreign-born terrorist bombing, a Los Angles firefighter sets out to get his revenge on those responsible.

PLOT:

Gordy Brewer (ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER) is a Los Angles firefighter who leads a good life until his wife and son are killed in a terrorist bombing aimed at the Colombian Consulate. With federal agent Brandt (ELIAS KOTEAS) working on the case, Gordy hopes that there will be justice for his family, namely in finding and capturing "The Wolf" (CLIFF CURTIS), the lead guerilla terrorist responsible for the bombing.

When Gordy realizes that's been put on the back burner, he researches the man and his movement and then sets out for Colombia to deal out his own form of revenge. There, he runs into various people such as John Armstrong (JOHN TURTURRO), a Canadian mechanic; Felix (JOHN LEGUIZAMO), a cocaine farmer; and Selena (FRANCESCA NERI), who turns out to be the Wolf's wife.

As Gordy continues his pursuit, he must avoid being spotted, captured or killed as he tries to find and stop the guerilla leader before he strikes again and kills more innocent people.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: If they're fans of anyone in the cast of typical Schwarzenegger type action thrillers, they probably will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For violence and some language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER plays a firefighter who sets out to avenge his wife and son's deaths in a terrorist bombing. He briefly uses strong profanity.
ELIAS KOTEAS plays a government agent who wants to eliminate the Colombians involved in the drug trade and doesn't care about the collateral damage he might cause.
CLIFF CURTIS plays a terrorist who uses bombings in an effort to try to force the U.S. out of his country.
FRANCESCA NERI plays his wife who seems to have grown tired of his behavior, but has a few surprises up her sleeves.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays a Colombian drug kingpin.
JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.; ELIAS KOTEAS plays a government agent who wants to eliminate the Colombians involved in the drug trade and doesn't care about the collateral damage he might cause.
CLIFF CURTIS plays a terrorist who uses bombings in an effort to try to force the U.S. out of his country.
FRANCESCA NERI plays his wife who seems to have grown tired of his behavior, but has a few surprises up her sleeves.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays a Colombian drug kingpin.
JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.; CLIFF CURTIS plays a terrorist who uses bombings in an effort to try to force the U.S. out of his country.
FRANCESCA NERI plays his wife who seems to have grown tired of his behavior, but has a few surprises up her sleeves.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays a Colombian drug kingpin.
JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.; FRANCESCA NERI plays his wife who seems to have grown tired of his behavior, but has a few surprises up her sleeves.
JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays a Colombian drug kingpin.
JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.; JOHN LEGUIZAMO plays a Colombian drug kingpin.
JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.; JOHN TURTURRO plays a Canadian mechanic who Gordy meets in prison. He briefly uses strong profanity.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated action drama. Violence is listed as extreme due to numerous lethal and non-lethal encounters that include people being killed in terrorist bombings; various people being shot (and injured or killed) by various forms of gun fire; others being killed or injured by other explosions; various instances of people hitting, kicking or otherwise striking others; and a man being killed by having a poisonous snake put into his mouth and presumably down his throat.

Some of those scenes have bloody results, but beyond the brief sight of a bitten off ear flying through the air, none are terribly graphic. Some of them and other moments, however, may be tense or unsettling to some viewers, and those responsible for such mayhem obviously have extreme cases of bad attitudes. Meanwhile, tense family moments are present in the form of a man seeing his wife and child killed in a terrorist bombing.

Profanity consists of at least 4 uses of the "f" word along with other expletives, while some colorful phrases and 2 brief sexually related comments are also present. Meanwhile, various characters drink and/or smoke, while one appears to smoke a joint and another is noted as being a cocaine farmer (and we see his farm).

Should you still be concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: We see what looks like a glass of wine in one scene.
Some miscellaneous men have bottles of beer next to them.
A man smokes what looks like a joint.
Felix holds a beer as do others.
We see that Felix is a cocaine farmer and has many people working for him (and we see the drug being processed).
Some miscellaneous men have beer near them.

BLOOD/GORE: We see some bloodstained sheets covering some dead bodies, while Gordy has a few minor bloody cuts on his face.
As Gordy travels along a jungle river, we see many bodies in the water or in the jungle growth, all murder victims (but beyond being dead/partially submerged and/or with a large bird on the back of one of them, they're not graphically bloody or gory).
Gordy has some blood on his face.
Gordy spits out a man's ear (we just see it flying through the air) after biting it off his head during a fight.
Gordy has some bloody cuts on his face.
We see a little bit of blood from a dead woman's nose.
The Wolf has some blood on his face and shoulder from an explosion.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: The terrorists obviously have extreme cases of both for purposefully killing people and not carrying about who else might be hurt or killed by their actions.
Brandt isn't cooperative with the FBI, disobeys Senate orders, and eventually launches a raid on the Colombian drug dealers, not being concerned with the innocent people who might be killed.
A person turns sides and attempts to kill many people.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" or "Blood/Gore" may also be suspenseful or unsettling to some viewers.
We see a scene set in a burning building where Gordy hears a woman's cries for help and sets out to rescue her. During this, he jumps through a hole in one floor down to the next floor below, but crashes through it, with only his ax stopping him from completely going through it.
As we see Gordy's wife and son waiting for him to arrive, we see a suspicious looking "police officer" operating nearby and most viewers will realize that something bad is going to happen simply by the way the scene is set up and then shot.
Some men on a motorcycle nearly run over Selena's boy and then confront both of them. Gordy then intervenes and the men back down.
The local police and guerilla forces independently close in on Gordy on a street with him being unaware of what they're doing.
Several boatloads of gun-toting men stop Gordy's boat at gunpoint.
The Wolf has his men grab another man and then pry his mouth open with some sort of metal devices. The Wolf then takes a coral snake (poisonous) and put it into the man's mouth where it presumably goes down his throat (we see its tail disappear). The man then convulses and presumably dies.
Gordy sneaks around a compound at night and tries to set up an explosive without being seen. Later, he spots Selena and her son walking past where the explosion will take place and races to get them out of harm's way.
We watch as a homeless man attempts to open a briefcase that we believe contains a terrorist bomb.
Gordy races to stop the terrorists from setting off more bombs (and fights with the people in the process).

GUNS/WEAPONS: Bombs/Grenades/Rockets/Handguns/Rifles/Machine guns/Knife/Helicopter gunships: Used to threaten, wound or kill people and/or destroy property. See "Violence" for details.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "Who the f*ck are you?" "Nobody gives a sh*t about us," "Get your ass over here," "Bastards," "Freakin,'" "Sure as hell," "Shove your head up your ass," "That's for damn sure," "Double dipping whore" and "What the hell was that?"
It's possible someone could copy the idea of using terrorist bombings for their own particular agenda.
Gordy slides down some elevator cables to chase after a guerilla.
Gordy uses an ax to puncture some gas lines to cause an explosion.

JUMP SCENES: A sudden explosion might startle some viewers.
A person suddenly jumps on another person.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): An extreme amount of suspenseful and ominous music plays during the film.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 4 "f" words, 6 "s" words, 1 slang term for sex ("screwing"), 6 S.O.B.s, 5 asses (2 used with "hole"), 3 damns, 2 hells, 1 crap, 7 uses of "G-damn," 2 of "Oh my God" and 1 use of "Swear to God" as exclamations.

SEX/NUDITY: Armstrong states that he was arrested for lewd behavior, but then adds that he swears he was just standing there and "she was doing all of the work."
Gordy gives Felix the line that Armstrong said to say about him, namely that he was arrested for "screwing" someone's daughter. Felix then jokingly refers to him as a "double dipping whore."

SMOKING: Felix smokes several times, while various miscellaneous characters smoke in a few scenes.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: Gordy must deal with seeing his wife and son killed before his eyes, and there's a brief funeral scene.
A woman claims that terrorists killed her daughter and that she and her husband adopted an orphaned boy, but we don't know if that's true.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: Terrorist activity and the reasons for such mentality, behavior and actions.
Revenge.
Firefighters and the risks they take.
Brandt's comments on fighting terrorists with terror.

VIOLENCE: During what seems like a dream, Gordy is in a building fighting a fire when an explosion rips through part of the building, knocking some people down.
A bomb in a motorcycle explodes, with the explosion ripping through a street scene and adjoining building, knocking people over, and causing property damage. We later hear that two-dozen people were injured and 9 killed, including Gordy's wife and son (and we see their bloodstained, sheet-covered bodies).
Gordy tries to race to the above scene, but a cab hits him en route, injuring him.
Gordy smashes his answering machine in anger.
Upset with a freedom fighter calling his wife and son's deaths collateral damage, Gordy bursts into a room, turns over bookcases and uses a bat to smash various things such as a computer, and kicks over a TV. He then grabs the man and threatens him, but FBI agents then rush in and shoot him with a stun gun, zapping him and causing him to fall to the floor.
We see some brief footage of guerillas shooting machine guns.
Gordy and various innocent people flee from a roadblock as armed men open fire on them and continue to do so as they run through the jungle. Some people seem to be hit, but there's no blood and they're only briefly seen. During this, Gordy punches one of the men in the face, knocking him down the side of a hill (as the man aimed his gun at some girls). More men open fire on him, with Gordy eventually sliding down a hill and falling into a rapidly moving body of water that sends him over several small waterfalls before doing the same over a very tall one (but he's okay).
The local police and guerilla forces independently close in on Gordy on a street with him being unaware of what they're doing. Those forces then briefly open fire on each other (with at least 2 people being shot), with Gordy and others being clubbed on the ground and arrested.
Guerilla forces open fire on a police compound, shooting grenades and/or rockets into it (with resultant explosions) and shooting guards with machine gun fire. A truck then drives through a large door or wall and more shooting and explosions and gunfire follows (with people being hit, but there's no blood). A car is hit and explodes, with a man catching on fire. As many more people are shot and a fire rages inside the jail cells, Gordy grabs one of the guerillas who's holding a chainsaw of sorts and bangs him back against his cell bars, knocking the man unconscious.
As Gordy travels along a jungle river, we see many bodies in the water or in the jungle growth, all murder victims.
Men aim their guns at Gordy and others.
The Wolf has his men grab another man and then pry his mouth open with some sort of metal devices. The Wolf then takes a coral snake (poisonous) and put it into the man's mouth where it presumably goes down his throat (we see its tail disappear). The man then convulses and presumably dies.
Gordy throws something that explodes and then sets off other explosions.
A guerilla shoots another man (who's presumably mortally wounded).
A grenade explodes on a gas tank, resulting in a huge explosion.
The Wolf kicks Gordy in the gut and then the face, and another person then kicks him.
Gordy gets into a fight with the Wolf and several of his men. Various people are hit and Gordy then has his handcuffs around the Wolf's neck, trying to strangle him. A guard tries to hit Gordy with his rifle butt, but hits the Wolf before finally hitting Gordy several times. More struggling and fighting follows, with Gordy biting one man on the head and then spitting out his ear. A man then hits Gordy, knocking him unconscious.
Gordy, Selena and her son try to escape the guerilla compound as American helicopters open fire on it with a great deal of machine gun fire and missiles, blowing up things and killing many people (but without blood or gore). Others open fire on Gordy, Selena and her son as they try to flee from the scene. During this, Gordy sets off a landmine so that they can continue, but then fights with one soldier (with various punches, kicks and the man trying to stab him with a knife, etc.) as they roll precariously close to another landmine (that eventually explodes).
A woman punches another woman and then breaks her neck. As she tries to make her escape, she hits a man in the throat.
Gordy throws a briefcase to shatter a window so that he can throw an object containing a bomb outside through it. He does so just as the bomb explodes, damaging the building but apparently not harming anyone inside it.
An agent shoots into an elevator he believes the above women is in, but misses and she shoots him dead.
That woman kicks Gordy while both are beneath that elevator.
We see a dead man on the ground (presumably a murder victim).
A gas explosion (ignited by a person shooting at Gordy) knocks several people down and causes some property destruction.
Gordy fights with two people (punching and elbowing, etc.), throwing one into an electrical panel (resulting in death by electrocution) and after fighting some more with the second person (and being hit with a large piece of metal), he throws an ax that impales the other man in the chest (no blood) just as he's preparing to set off another bomb.

Reviewed February 4, 2002 / Posted February 8, 2002

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