Terrorism is one of the horrors of real-life. I don’t really want to see realistic terrorism put into an action film because it is awkward to watch especially when this movie tries to make you hate and sympathize with terrorists simultaneously. Throwing Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Predator”, “True Lies”) in it only makes it more awkward to sit through.
In “Collateral Damage”, fire-fighter Gordy Brewer (Schwarzenegger) witnesses the murder of his wife and son in an act of terrorism. Obviously distraught he tries to find the man responsible and he discovers it was a Columbian terrorist that calls himself ‘The Wolf’ (Cliff Curtis “Training Day”). Brewer then embarks on a mission to Columbia to kill ‘The Wolf’ but he escapes and another bomb is about to go off in Washington.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has dealt with terrorists before but not in a realistic way like this. You want to see him kick some because he’s one of the biggest and greatest action stars but this movie just makes you feel so awkward it puts you off and sadly the film doesn’t really focus on action anyway. I dislike ‘The Wolf’ in it as I just feel they try to make him a little sympathetic and I just felt uncomfortable.
“Collateral Damage” wouldn’t be a horrible movie if it didn’t focus on terrorists so realistically. It has some good moments but they just completely ruined by how anxious you are to finish the film because you want to be relieved of the subject matter the film is thrusting upon you. I say skip “Collateral Damage” even if you’re a fan of Schwarzenegger because the way you feel while watching this movie is far worse than the kind you feel while watching some of his other films such as “Junior” and “Jingle All The Way”.