Sabotage

Michael Mann loves tough guys, hardcore action, and raw military feeling, just like David Ayer. Both of them have seen, studied and experienced and know how to create a realistic atmosphere, but they approach it from opposite ends. Mann comes from the upper echelons of society (drug barons, professional thieves, undercover cops in Ferraris), while Ayer comes from the lower ones (losers, aimless goons), and handles action brilliantly, no doubt about it. We haven't seen raw shootouts full of bullets and destruction for a while, but we have seen all the rest in his other movies, so it’s not impressive, and his groundbreaking steady cam and FPS shots are nothing new either. It would still be a decent ride if it weren't for the dumb screenplay. Arnold is alright. The nerve is there, it's just shooting, so okay. (14/08/2014)

A film as ridiculous as Schwarzenegger's acting and feigned toughness. Otherwise, nothing against Arnold, I like him in his older and time-tested films where he isn't limited by his narrow acting range, but he doesn't have the acting chops for a complex character haunted by demons and the frustration of his beloved wife's death. Moreover, with his fading physiognomy, he looks like a fist in the eye among those young, horny wolves (and one very wild "bitch" played by – unusual for her – Mireille Enos). The B-movie script, which makes less and less sense as it goes on, doesn't help things either. The result is a kind of sweaty play on a raw thriller, with a lot of plot filler and deaf spots, where even the wannabe badass lines feel forced and the violence is gratuitous. (11/07/2014)

The film has a simple plot and some of the illogicalities are blatantly obvious, but I feel that this is quite normal in action films. What I liked is the fact that it's incredibly realistic when it comes to the violence, which perhaps the last Expendables lacked, but I also like that the team works and doesn't work at the same time. Here you really get the feeling that these are people. Then there's Arnold, who still has it, even if he looks rather ridiculous in some scenes. The ending is properly cool, though. (22/08/2014)

Arnold Schwarzenegger decided to shoot some interesting movies after returning from his Governor office. And I must admit that he’s doing pretty well. Because Ayer is a very interesting director who can make him stand out in his movies. Sabotage doesn’t really have a difficult story. Arnie’s in charge of a band of queers, where one is more idiotic than the next guy. Let’s say they’re all complete idiots. And this unit is apparently one of the best anti-drug unit in America. But what happens if all of them start dying in a strange way? Being the “big guy”, Arnie immediately starts investigating it and amidst all those torn-apart bodies, he also finds a way to make the movie likeable for me. For once, I didn’t really have a problem with this level of realism, because from that point on, it turns into a solid crime investigation movie where Arnold’s enjoying himself to the fullest and it made me wonder whether I started to like this movie. The action scenes aren’t bad at all. What’s worse are the actors; the only one I liked at all was Arnold. It was only thanks to him that it turned into a solid four-star affair. I like him a lot and this movie outright depends on him, which was great. (01/09/2014)

I didn't really enjoy it. Action movies about special ops are one of my least favourites because even here we don't get to build any kind of relationship with the characters, so we have absolutely no sympathy for someone who dies. There is plenty of blood, but that's it, it felt like a cheap video movie at times. A generic story, little action, Arnie didn't work for me here, and at times it’s boring, so average. 55%. (13/07/2014)