Savages

I don’t know, on the surface, Savages wants to be an action thriller with sexy visuals that you’d rather not think too much about, but under the surface, what I see is a stubborn attempt at something postmodern. And its most effective gimmick is disguising narrative incompetence as a subversive game with expectations and thus justifying itself. I wasn’t interested in who does what to whom, who betrays whom and who is screwing whom, as the motivations of most of the characters get lost with each twist and in the end it doesn’t matter at all whether everyone will shoot or forgive each other. Savages are unpredictable… that’s all the justification you need. Uninteresting. (15/11/2012)

To start with a rather naive idyll about a love triangle, entwined in ganja roots. But Stoney couldn’t leave it at that. Visual refinement goes without saying, the bloody brutality of the unrated version (could have been a fuck or two richer) adds a good two stars. Taylor Kitsch downright found himself in his role. Del Toro plays the biggest possible asshole with obvious delight and Travolta landed another fine role. The action scenes are right up there with the best, old school quality. Another picture like that, but with a better screenplay next time, please. P.S.: The cellphone ringing tone with “Three Blind Mice" is annoying, but pleasing. Please don’t kill me, I have three young children. (07/12/2012)

Way too long of a film - the double ending was the height of stalling. The last properly atmospheric scene came about an hour after the beginning (a thrilling ride with a police car at its heels), and from then until the end, Savages (with the exception of the robbery of the car with the money) became a boring spectacle that almost surprised me at the end. Almost (see my note about the double ending). I saw two ordinary, expressionless dummies in the lead male roles, which is why I was much more interested in the characters of Salma Hayek and Benicio Del Toro. Are you surprised by that? It wasn't a bad watch, but I expected better from Oliver Stone. (03/03/2013)

A visually incredibly sophisticated and attractive, color-filtered, tuned, purely "image-based" film. Not that the solid plot would be on the second place, but fans of the director's work know exactly what to expect. For an uninitiated viewer, it will be a consistent film in all aspects and a solid experience whether in the cinema or a high-quality home projection, for example on DVD. Well-acted and musically stylish, the film has a solid pace and an appealing feeling, as always, skillfully reflecting the present time. This time, instead of sports, we have drugs here, but it’s still watchable. (10/02/2013)

Oliver Stone is still a master. His bold directorial style, tons of visual flourishes, a perfectly integrated soundtrack and songs; it never gets boring. Its form reminded me a bit of his earlier U-Turn, except that this one has a much better script, with a light Tarantino touch, without annoying clichés, and with a conclusion that is a Stone-esque middle finger to the viewer. With the exception of a somewhat hapless Blake Lively, all the actors were excellent and Aaron Taylor-Johnson, the teenage looser from Kick-Ass, went a long way towards charisma. (27/01/2013)