Sabotage Review

Rated R (Strong Bloody Violence, Pervasive Language, Some Sexuality/Nudity and Drug Use)

Running Time: 1 Hour & 49 Minutes

Cast-

Arnold Schwarzenegger-John 'Breacher' Wharton

Sam Worthington-James 'Monster' Murray

Mireille Enos-Lizzy Murray

Joe Manganiello-Joe 'Grinder' Phillips

Terrence Howard-Julius 'Sugar' Edmonds

Josh Holloway-Eddie 'Neck' Jordan

Max Martini-Tom 'Pyro' Roberts

Kevin Vance-Bryce 'Tripod' McNeely

Mark Schlegel-'Smoke' Jennings

Olivia Williams-FBI Agent Caroline Brentwood

Harold Perrineau-FBI Agent Darius Jackson

Martin Donovan-Floyd Demel

Troy Garity-Agent Spolcheck

Tim Ware-Stan Morris/DEA Interrogator #1

Gary Grubbs-Lou Cantrell/DEA Interrogator #2

Catherine Dyer-Karen Wharton

Patrick Johnson-Jacob Wharton

Directed by David Ayer

Arnold Schwarzenegger's latest film may have flopped but he'll always have Chevrolet.

Note: Screened on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at AMC Loews 34th Street 14.

One of the many underrated films of 2012 was David Ayer's "End of Watch" starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña. Utilizing the same found-footage aesthetics that have become all the rage in horror, Ayer's visceral cop drama was, and I quote from my own review, 'a surprisingly poignant tribute to every law-enforcement officer working the beat, serving as a reminder that these people are just normal folks who put their lives on the line day after day to protect their fellow man.' Other critics similarly praised the film (it has an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes) and it was a modest box office success, grossing $48.1 million worldwide against a micro-budget of $7 million. Primarily known for writing 2001's "Training Day" and directing the forgettable crime dramas "Harsh Times" and "Street Kings," "End of Watch" was Ayer's best work by far but all the goodwill he amassed is flushed down the toilet with the ill-conceived action/crime thriller "Sabotage." Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the picture is loosely inspired by Agatha Christie's famous 1939 mystery novel And Then There Were None. Since leaving office, Schwarzenegger's post-gubernatorial film career has sadly been met with one box office flop after another. Although I enjoyed last year's "The Last Stand" and "Escape Plan," it seems the moviegoers that made him such a huge success during the 1980s have long since moved on while younger audiences just don't care (or know) about him anymore. I've always enjoyed watching Schwarzenegger on the big-screen and it's nice to see him tackle a more morally ambiguous role but "Sabotage" is a complete mess, with a mystery that fails to engage and a foul-mouthed script that's buried by unlikable characters and ugly, snuff film-like violence.

John 'Breacher' Wharton (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a veteran DEA agent who leads an elite task force based in Atlanta, Georgia. This task force consists of eight other members: James 'Monster' Murray (Sam Worthington) and his wife Lizzy (Mireille Enos), Joe 'Grinder' Phillips (Joe Manganiello), Julius 'Sugar' Edmonds (Terrence Howard), Eddie 'Neck' Jordan (Josh Holloway), Tom 'Pyro' Roberts (Max Martini), Bryce 'Tripod' McNeely (Kevin Vance), and 'Smoke' Jennings (Mark Schlegel). During a daylight raid on a cartel safe house, Breacher and his team steal $10 million in drug money from a massive stash, with the cash hidden away in a drain pipe underneath a toilet. Although they manage to cover their tracks by blowing up the cartel's leftover money, the heist unfortunately doesn't go as smooth as they had initially planned, with Smoke taking a fatal bullet to the neck. Later that night, Breacher and his team travel down to the sewers to retrieve the money but discover to their shock that it is now gone. To make matters worse, the DEA learns of the missing loot and suspects they took it. Breacher's superior Floyd Demel (Martin Donovan) suspends the squad and opens an investigation but everyone denies their involvement and refuses to give up any information. Tripod even ends up quitting while he is interrogated. With no concrete evidence of their participation, Demel is forced to call off the probe and reinstate Breacher and his team. However, he reminds him that they are more or less blacklisted due to their alleged illegal activities. Growing restless from their suspension, the team is overjoyed to hear they're back in action but their celebration is cut short when someone begins taking them down one by one, drawing the attention of a local FBI investigator named Caroline Brentwood (Olivia Williams).

There's a scene in "Sabotage" where Brentwood goes to Breacher's house while his team is gathered there, mourning the loss of one of their own—if you can even call it mourning considering the trashy way they behave. She tries to ask Eddie 'Neck' Jordan (what is up with these asinine codenames?) a couple of questions but when he acts in a rude and sleazy manner, Breacher yells at him for his disrespect and pulls Brentwood aside. While explaining that Neck has been dodging her for the past three days, she notices a number of photographs showing Breacher's—and by extension, Arnold's—illustrious career. It's one of two humorously self-aware moments, with the other involving the former Governator angrily excusing himself from a pair of hapless interrogators with the line, 'Look at you, with your forty-eight percent body fat, and you, you scrawny f*ck!' That scene drew laughs from the entire audience but that's pretty much all the enjoyment you'll get out of David Ayer's latest effort as the rest of "Sabotage" is an unpleasant, repugnant mess. During Brentwood's brief visit to Breacher's house, it's not only Neck that's behaving in a sleazy, vulgar manner, it's the entire team! What's worse is that these people are supposedly 'grieving.' I'm not sure what stage of the grieving process involves hiring a stripper; maybe it hasn't been classified yet by psychiatrists…or maybe these people are just scumbags. 

Neck's conduct toward Brentwood is an example of one of the film's many problems—its open contempt and misogyny toward women—but what really sinks the picture is the grotesque violence, which buries whatever point Ayer is trying to make, not that it matters much anyway considering the shoddy plotting from co-writer Skip Woods. The camera seems to linger with fetishistic glee on all the multiated body parts and hanging entrails, to the point where it feels like you're watching a snuff film. Apparently, Ayer is attempting to show how the people who fight in the so-called 'War on Drugs' have become psychologically indistinguishable from the cartels themselves (Monster even likens Breacher's team to a gang) but the director goes too far and offers absolutely no redeeming qualities to the characters. At one point, Breacher tries to rally his squad during a tense practice session by remarking that he trusts all of them with his life yet it comes off as an incredibly hollow sentiment. Uniformly abusive, repellant, and mean-spirited, the men (and woman) of Breacher's team are the kinds of people that honor a fallen comrade by getting drunk and going to a strip club. Since they're all so despicable, we don't care about what happens to them and it reduces the central mystery to a mild curiosity at best. The sole character that manages to earn some sympathy is Breacher himself, with the film slowly revealing a tragic backstory involving his wife and son. Unfortunately, Ayer constantly cuts to Breacher watching a video (sent by the cartel) of his wife being tortured and shot to death. It's just too much and wholly unnecessary.

As if torture-porn violence and reprehensible characters aren't enough, "Sabotage" is also poorly directed. It's as if Ayer thought he did too good a job in "End of Watch" and decided to not even bother trying here. Midway through the film, Breacher and Brentwood attempt to warn Bryce 'Tripod' McNeely that someone is picking off their team one by one. Their approach to Tripod's cabin is intercut with scenes of him fighting off four cartel assassins. Since they're edited together, you would think that both events are occurring at the same time but they're actually not as the scenes involving Tripod are flashbacks. Look, I'm all for experimentation. In fact, it's something directors should do but not at the expense of clarity. At least the action scenes (what little there are) escape relatively unscathed and I do admire the way Ayer goes to great lengths to accurately portray the DEA's squad tactics. He's always been a stickler for such details. I just wish he paid a little more attention to Woods' questionable credentials and hired another co-writer who could've reined him in and had the courage to say 'No.'

Arnold Schwarzenegger is not a great thespian by any stretch of the word but the former California governor actually delivers a quiet and dare I say, dignified performance as DEA squad leader Breacher. This is definitely one of his more complex roles, with Schwarzenegger dialing down his movie-star charisma in order to effectively convey his character's long-simmering rage and grief. Although Breacher is far from being a good guy, you at least understand where his actions are coming from. It's just a shame that Schwarzenegger's efforts are wasted on such a terrible film. Another bright spot is Olivia Williams, who displays a wry sense of humor and lends the picture some much-needed integrity as FBI investigator Caroline Brentwood. However, the script saddles her with an out-of-nowhere romance with Breacher that goes, well, nowhere. It's a minor misstep, one that fortunately doesn't detract from her solid performance. I wish I could say the same for the rest of the cast, which includes Sam Worthington, Mireille Enos, Joe Manganiello, Terrence Howard, Josh Holloway, and Max Martini. These are no doubt talented performers yet they're given almost nothing to work with here. Hell, besides their ridiculous codenames, their characters' only distinguishing features are their crazy hairstyles, with Worthington going bald with a goatee and Manganiello sporting cornrows. Enos actually proves to be quite memorable but for all the wrong reasons. The actress goes so over-the-top with the 'tough bad-chick' routine that it becomes a parody. Even Michelle Rodriguez would be embarrassed.

Released on March 28, 2014, "Sabotage" has received overwhelmingly negative reviews with 22% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics noted that it 'boasts one of Arnold Schwarzenegger's finer post-political performances, but it's wasted in a movie driven by grueling violence that punishes seemingly without purpose.' Although Schwarzenegger went out of his way to promote the film by making surprise appearances at advance screenings, "Sabotage" completely tanked at the domestic box office with a pitiful opening weekend gross of $5.2 million. That is the worse debut for a Schwarzenegger film since 1985's "Red Sonja" and is his third straight flop since his return to leading-man status. Still, that hasn't stopped the actor from forging ahead with a slate of projects, with a fifth "Terminator" film set to go into production in a matter of weeks. Look, I'm a big fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I've even enjoyed his lesser films from the early 2000s and am glad that he's decided to make movies again but I think we can all agree that "Sabotage" is not the type of picture we want to see him in a second time. I will reiterate that his performance is not the problem; it's everything around him that's bad. David Ayer's latest is a schlocky piece of direct-to-video garbage that just happens to boast some star-power.

Final Rating: 1.5 out of 5

"In what we do, there is only trust."