With Savages, the latest film directed by Oliver Stone, we’re given something every summer needs: fun. The leading cast is a host of faces that look familiar but in that, “Oh yeah, that’s so-n-so from that other movie,” sort of way.
The story of Savages can be summed up as a medical marijuana producer being moved in on by a Mexican drug cartel backdroped by a love story between two men and a woman in a polyamorous thruple. The inciting incident that sets off the action isn’t the graphic sex scenes that make you SO GLAD you didn’t bring your mother with you, but the kidnapping of the two pot growers’ girlfriend by an evil Mexican lady’s henchman.
The girlfriend, (Blake Lively (Green Lantern)) is a spoiled girl who’s so over-indulgently spoiled her first demands from her captors include a request for a “salad.” The two men who occupy themselves by occupying Blake Lively (just keeping it classy) consist of the genius botanist (Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass)) and the shell-shocked brute (Tyler Kitsch (John Carter)). All this is pretty stock, pretty standard, pretty, “who gives a sh@t.” stuff. However, It’s the bit parts and the clever plot that really sell this film. Without this major casting coup, the otherwise forgettable rolls of cartel boss, henchman, and crooked cop would have taken the film into the trench of irredeemable suckage. But the film lays out a HUGE powerhouse hand of Selma Hayek, Benicio Del Toro, and John Travolta in these minor parts. Ultimately it is Hayek‘s, Del Toro’s, and Travolta’s performances that make Savages pop.
The nuts and bolts of the film have a few lowlights, chiefly among them is Lively’s lackluster voiceovers but those come a close second to the casual cameos of the film’s title in the early dialogue that induce pronounced eye-rolling. As for the skin-scape, the nudity in the film is grotesque and nearly pornographic from the outset. The gratuitous display of flesh embraces equal opportunity and audiences are treated to just as many boy-bits as girl-bits. That being said, the nudity was totally unnecessary but that doesn’t stop you from really, really enjoying it.
Savages works, even when you account for the ending which I refuse to spoil for you, it really does. The bad guys are evil yet dynamic and relatable, and the good guys are imperfect and understandably motivated. But, nearly all the credit for the film’s good choices rest on the shoulders of Stone who just really knows how to make good movies. Without his leadership in recognizing how to execute this fast-paced, free-flying, twist-turning action suspense, Savages surely would have been destined for either the dollar bin or the ashcan.
Rating: Fast-paced, free-flying, twist-turning action movie that is quite satisfying. (8/10)
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