Collateral Damage - R\nStarring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Cliff Curtis\nDirected by: Andrew Davis\nShowing: Showplace West 12\nI'm going to level with you; I like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Particularly in roles where he speaks as little as possible, such as "The Terminator," "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Predator." Movies such as these play off his strengths, namely the fact that he looks like he could tear a person's arms off. These are good roles for Schwarzenegger because his actual acting talent is negligible. For evidence of this, take a look at his latest offering, "Collateral Damage."\nSchwarzenegger stars as Gordon Brewer, a Los Angeles fireman whose wife and young son are killed in a massive explosion in downtown L.A. It turns out that this explosion was the result of a terrorist bomb, planted by a Colombian revolutionary known as "The Wolf" (played by Cliff Curtis). As is tradition in his movies, Schwarzenegger gets understandably angry and goes on a huge killing spree, tracking The Wolf first through Colombia and later back into the United States, where the inevitable showdown takes place.\nUnfortunately, this movie just doesn't know what it wants to be. It certainly isn't well acted enough to be considered a drama, and it lacks the special effects oomph to match up with the bulk of Schwarzenegger's late '80s and early '90s. The explosions and action is lacking, and the awkwardly executed "emotional" scenes feel stilted. Essentially, the movie just can't decide if it's going to be a commentary on the results of American interference in other countries' politics (a topic which is definitely a touchy subject these days) or just a mindless blast fest. It winds up failing miserably in both endeavors, providing surprisingly few action sequences, none of Schwarzenegger's traditional one-liners and a poorly defined and preachy political message.\nOriginally scheduled to open in October of last year, the Sept. 11 events understandably altered the release date. Before then, this movie would've just been typical B-movie schlock; now, it's vaguely offensive B-movie schlock. The Wolf's justification for his attacks on the United States certainly won't pull any weight with audiences these days, and I have to admit I wasn't entirely comfortable with watching people die in terrorist attacks on screen. Having seen such horrors in reality, the Hollywood version seems horribly inappropriate.\n"Collateral Damage" is, at best, a painfully mediocre film, and it's certainly not worth seeing in theaters. If you must see it, wait for it on TV.\n
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