Review of Savages (2012) by Chris W — 03 Jan 2013

Based on a novel, this is Oliver Stone's return to dark and stylish crime thrillers.

Ben is a peaceful and charitable Buddhist. His best friend Chon is a troubled ex-Navy SEAL and veteran. Together they run a highly lucrative and successful independent marijuana business, and also share the love of their mutual lady O (short for Ophelia). They have a rather decent (from one perspective) life together, but all of that changes when they run afoul of the brutal Baja Cartel, and its fiendishly cruel leader Elena and her head henchman Lado.

After O is kidnapped, Ben and Chon, with the aid of a shady DEA agent named Dennis, go on the offensive, and find themselves in the midst of a brutal war with an outcome that could be grim for all parties.

So this is ever controversial auteur Stone's commentary on the ever continuing war on drugs, and, while it does have political and social commentary/messages, it's actually one of his least preachy and heavy handed as far as this sort of thing goes. It's mostly a slick and brutal thriller, and, I actually kinda liked that. It's still wild, but it also seems as if Stone is finally maturing and trying to rein things in a bit.

This doesn't apply to all fronts however, as, like many of the director's works, this one is a bit of a mess. It's overlong, the narration is flat and lifeless, the film gets quite meandering at times, and I hate how Stone concludes things, a la Funny Games.

Also, the three leads, despite delivering in other movies, just don't work here, especially Lively. Kitsch and Johnson fare only slightly better. The real meat and the most interesting work comes courtesy of Hayek as Elena, Travolta as Dennis, and del Toro as Lado. These three do get a bit hammy at times, but when they need to shine, they don't disappoint, especially del Toro, who is a joy to watch as one of the better screen villains of 2012.

The film has Stone's usual flair as far as cinematography, music, and editing go, but it feels more reserved, which, I did actually like. It could have gone all out like Natural Born Killers did, but, given this film's issues, I think it would have only harmed it. It's definitely entertaining, but I don't know if I quite recommend it. Maybe only see this if you're a Stone diehard.