One thing is for certain, Sabotage will not be winning any awards for "feel good" movie of the year. Co-written and directed by David Ayer, Sabotage is a dark, at times practically nihilistic police thriller that proves to be the most downbeat film Arnold Schwarzenegger has been associated with in most of his acting career. In general, dark films don't immediately turn me off, but Sabotage is such a dour affair, with a limited amount of attention to character and a script that seems to be a bit confused at times that it leaves you wanting more from this film.
Sabotage focuses on "Breacher" (Schwarzenegger), the head of an elite DEA tactical team that is made up of a number of proverbial "bad boys" and one "bad girl": Monster (Sam Worthington), Sugar (Terrence Howard), Pyro (Max Martini), Grinder (Joe Mangeniello), Neck (Josh Holloway), Tripod (Kevin Vance), Smoke (Mark Schlegel) and Lizzie (Mirelle Enos). Tattooed, grungy and seemingly perpetually intoxicated, the team is called into action to take down a load of money belonging to a drug lord, but in the process appropriates $10 million for themselves. When the team returns to retrieve the money later, they find it missing. After an intensive interrogation and investigation by the DEA where no evidence can be located, Breacher and his team return to their routine. However, shortly thereafter, the team members begin getting picked off one by one in some rather gruesome ways. Homicide detective Caroline (Olivia Williams) begins investigating the murders, but deduces there is more than meets the eye to these crimes.
Sabotage represents a departure of sorts for Schwarzenegger. While he has at times been involved in the past in films with darker premises, such as Collateral Damage and End of Days, Sabotage is easily the grittiest role he has taken on in a long time, perhaps ever. Breacher is a morally ambiguous, complex character and while Schwarzenegger will probably never be able to completely overcome his acting limitations, with Breacher he is at least stretching beyond his normal boundaries.
However, Sabotage's problems aren't with Schwarzenegger, but the script and, to a certain extent, the film's direction. Intended as a whodunnit when the characters start dropping off, Sabotage runs afoul of a number of issues, primarily the fact that the characters are so underdeveloped that we are left watching a film where many of the individuals are no better than passing faces and the few that are given some depth are generally unpleasant. Aside from Breacher, almost all the leads aren't given much to work with, leaving actors such as Terrence Howard rather underutilized in their roles. The one exception is Lizzie, the drug addled female member of the squad, but the problem with her is that, in an attempt to make her a "warrior woman" Ayer and actress Enos stretch too far. Lizzie is about as over the top as you can get, pushing the limits of her character and transforming her into a caricature rather than a three dimensional human being. I'm sure Enos revelled in the opportunity to sink her teeth into a role that many women performers don't get, but she simply ends up as a distraction at times.
For the most part, Sabotage doesn't represent anything really new for director Ayer, who has largely made his career out of dark police procedural films, but even with a number of outings under his belt, Sabotage at times feels almost amateurish. Perhaps it is a combination of the hand held, high def video camera work (which still at times can't match the look of real film) combined with some rather outlandish dialogue that makes it often feel that Sabotage is being made by a bunch of guys with a camcorder who revel in overripe profanity as a stunt to fill their free time. Also, as the film starts winding down, the narrative takes a number of turns that make what came before more and more confused and almost pointless. Add to that the thin characterization, and, in the end, you are left with a rather unpalatable concoction.
Sabotage focuses on "Breacher" (Schwarzenegger), the head of an elite DEA tactical team that is made up of a number of proverbial "bad boys" and one "bad girl": Monster (Sam Worthington), Sugar (Terrence Howard), Pyro (Max Martini), Grinder (Joe Mangeniello), Neck (Josh Holloway), Tripod (Kevin Vance), Smoke (Mark Schlegel) and Lizzie (Mirelle Enos). Tattooed, grungy and seemingly perpetually intoxicated, the team is called into action to take down a load of money belonging to a drug lord, but in the process appropriates $10 million for themselves. When the team returns to retrieve the money later, they find it missing. After an intensive interrogation and investigation by the DEA where no evidence can be located, Breacher and his team return to their routine. However, shortly thereafter, the team members begin getting picked off one by one in some rather gruesome ways. Homicide detective Caroline (Olivia Williams) begins investigating the murders, but deduces there is more than meets the eye to these crimes.
Sabotage represents a departure of sorts for Schwarzenegger. While he has at times been involved in the past in films with darker premises, such as Collateral Damage and End of Days, Sabotage is easily the grittiest role he has taken on in a long time, perhaps ever. Breacher is a morally ambiguous, complex character and while Schwarzenegger will probably never be able to completely overcome his acting limitations, with Breacher he is at least stretching beyond his normal boundaries.
However, Sabotage's problems aren't with Schwarzenegger, but the script and, to a certain extent, the film's direction. Intended as a whodunnit when the characters start dropping off, Sabotage runs afoul of a number of issues, primarily the fact that the characters are so underdeveloped that we are left watching a film where many of the individuals are no better than passing faces and the few that are given some depth are generally unpleasant. Aside from Breacher, almost all the leads aren't given much to work with, leaving actors such as Terrence Howard rather underutilized in their roles. The one exception is Lizzie, the drug addled female member of the squad, but the problem with her is that, in an attempt to make her a "warrior woman" Ayer and actress Enos stretch too far. Lizzie is about as over the top as you can get, pushing the limits of her character and transforming her into a caricature rather than a three dimensional human being. I'm sure Enos revelled in the opportunity to sink her teeth into a role that many women performers don't get, but she simply ends up as a distraction at times.
For the most part, Sabotage doesn't represent anything really new for director Ayer, who has largely made his career out of dark police procedural films, but even with a number of outings under his belt, Sabotage at times feels almost amateurish. Perhaps it is a combination of the hand held, high def video camera work (which still at times can't match the look of real film) combined with some rather outlandish dialogue that makes it often feel that Sabotage is being made by a bunch of guys with a camcorder who revel in overripe profanity as a stunt to fill their free time. Also, as the film starts winding down, the narrative takes a number of turns that make what came before more and more confused and almost pointless. Add to that the thin characterization, and, in the end, you are left with a rather unpalatable concoction.