Savages
(2012)
Crime / Drama / Thriller
130 min.
Rated: R Pernicious Profanity, graphic sex, extreme and graphic torture and sadistic violence
Rating: D
Director: Oliver Stone
Writers: Shane Salerno (screenplay), Don Winslow (screenplay and novel), Oliver Stone (screenplay)
Super entrepreneur pot growers, Ben and Chon, face off against a Mexican drug cartel who has kidnapped their shared girlfriend as leverage to force the duo into joining the cartel.
This film should have been rated NC-17. The profanity is pernicious and constant, the sex scenes are graphic and in poor taste, the scenes of torture and gratuitous violence is raw, graphic and will be offensive to most viewers. This unnecessary over the top warped viewpoint of society, that everyone in government, the military, police enforcement and business is corrupt has been the hallmark of Oliver Stone's directorial career.
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| Ben and Chon |
The only reason this film escapes an 'F' rating from me is that some of the acting (with one glaring exception of Blake Lively) and the technical and production values of the film are up to standard.
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| Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) |
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| Elena |
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| Ben, Denis and Chon |
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| Ben, Denis and Chon |
Mr. Stone's way is to soil the reputation of every institution and individual portrayed in his films, we have Chon (Taylor Kitsch) is a dishonorable Navy Seal drug cultivator and distributor who employes his willing Seal buddies to help him bomb and kill his oponents; Ben (Aaron Johnson), his friend and partner is a 'brilliant botanist' marijuana cultivator/entrepreneur/distributor the two are supposed to be the 'oh so cool' Bill Gates and Steve Jobs of primo-cannabis dude; O (Blake Lively) is the jaded 'spoiled rich kid' shared whore of the two friends and business partners (sorry, that's supposed to be the girlfriend in an open, sensitive, non-judgmental, optimal, ideal adult relationship of fornicators), together this trio is supposed to be representative of the norm in an American society which Mr. Stone loves to portray in decline; Dennis (John Travolta) is the obligatory corrupt, 'on the take' DEA agent; Elena (Salma Hayek) is the beautiful, sophisticated, ruthless, blood thirsty, vengeful and sadistic King Pin of a Mexican drug cartel, but let us not forget she is also a concerned, loving and sensitive mother and widow (I didn't believe for a moment that she would be capable of keeping her sadistic henchmen under her control).
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| Chon (Taylor Kitsch) |
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| Elena (Salma Hayek) |
Any respect for the mostly talented actors signed on to this project has been tarnished. Blake Lively is simply awful, there is nothing about her portrayal of O that would justify the undying loyalty of Chon and Ben (Think of Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan in the Twilight series, what did Edward (Robert Pattinson) or Jacob (Taylor Lautner) see in her?). Selma Hayek is beautiful and some reviewers are saying that she will surely be nominated for an Oscar for this performance...Really, are you serious? Her Elena is a caricature of the evil villain, think
Mike Myers in Austin Powers, I kept waiting for her to put her little pinky finger to the corner of her
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| Lado (Benicio Del Toro) |
mouth and demand a ransom of 'one million dollars', and then we have Lado (Benicio Del Toro) the double crossing villain with loyalty to no one but himself, who frequently twists his mustache like Dudley Do-Right's nemesis, Snidely Whiplash from The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show or some heartless landlord in a community theater melodrama.
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| O and Chon |
Frankly, I don't consider this depraved and despicable movie worth the wasting of any more time writing about it. I have generally, as of late, avoided Oliver Stone films due to the pervasive anti-American, amoral, didactic preachiness that permeates the majority of his films. Oliver Stone moves up a notch on my personal 'Don't Go' list'.
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