Collateral Damage (R1) DVD Review:


The Movie

In one fleeting moment, Gordy Brewer (Schwarzenegger) loses everything he ever cared about. Against the advice of friends, the FBI, and pointed warnings from CIA agent Brandt (Elias Koteas), Gordy sets out to track down a ruthless terrorist called “The Wolf”(Curtis) who killed Brewer’s family. This quest will take Brewer deep into the inhospitable jungle terrain of war-torn Colombia. It's a plan that has little chance of succeeding and is almost certain to cost him his own life. But Gordy Brewer doesn't care about the risks or the odds against him. He has nothing to loose.

Collateral Damage is too serious to be fun. The plot feels like a straight to video movie, yet it tries to be a regular action movie; it's statement about the innocent victims of terrorism gets lost in the hullabaloo. This is such a ridiculous film. There are some scenes that will hold your attention and the ending does have a nice surprise, but even that couldn’t save the vast portion of this film. Fans looking for more material will have to be satisfied with scenes in the core of the idle talk, faint characters, predictable plot, lampoon violence, and poor acting.

The Video

Collateral Damage appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this single-sided, double-layered DVD; the image has been enhanced for 16X9 televisions. The DVD provided a positive picture.

Sharpness was solid. The film was crisp and detailed. No concerns with jagged edges and no signs of edge enhancement. Colors came across accurately; tones appeared brilliant and customary. Black levels looked deep and thick. Collateral Damage gives us a very pleasing picture.

The Audio

The film is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. The film offered an active piece that used all five speakers. Audio quality was excellent. Dialogue sounded natural, with no signs of edginess or problems related to clearness; bass was deep and tight. Ultimately, Collateral Damage offered a very ideal soundtrack for this sort of film.

The Extras

Extras:

• Commentary by Director Andrew Davis

>It's not an entertaining commentary -- what a waste of time. Davis is not a commentary regular and it shows here. His comments are not very interesting.
• Theatrical trailer(s)
• "The Hero in a New Era" (exclusive interviews of Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Director and the Producers)

>This feature is self-explanatory. The title says it all.
• HBO's "First Look"

>HBO does a good job every time they profile and document a major movie. This one's fairly well done.
• Additional/Deleted Scenes

>These few are all branched together as one whole sequence coming after another. These do not come with optional commentary, but the scenes speak for themselves and why they were taken out.

The DVD is not as good as it could have been, especially since a behind-the-scenes featurette is missing. EXTRAS reviewed by Stephen.

Overall

All in all, I like Schwarzenegger pictures and find them entertaining, but Collateral Damage is possibly the worst Schwarzenegger film to date. The DVD provides decent picture and sound plus some choice supplements. The film on the other hand offers little to make it entertaining. This DVD should be skipped by all but the most earnest Schwarzenegger fans.

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