The Movie:

Collateral Damage is a film that rose to some notoriety before it was released. Originally intended to hit theaters in October of 2001, the terrorist attacks that occurred in New York City a month prior caused Warner Brothers to postpone the film's debut and it didn't hit theaters until 2002. In the months that preceded its debut, the film's marketing angle was completely revamped and the picture was revised so as not to offend some understandably delicate sensibilities. Despite the controversy surrounding the 'Arnold versus the terrorists' storyline, however, Collateral Damage isn't really all that different from any other Schwarzenegger movie you'd care to name - the only difference is that this time he doesn't pick up a gun, instead, he basically kills everyone with his bar hands.

Arnold plays a Los Angeles firefighter named Gordy Brewer whose wife and son are killed when a bomb planted by a terrorist called himself El Lobo (Cliff Curtis) goes off. While obviously Brewer's family wasn't the intended target, that doesn't soften the blow any for Brewer, who is understandably upset that the most important people in his life have just been snuffed out as 'collateral damage.' The Feds are called in to investigate but it soon becomes obvious to Gordy that nothing is going to get done and once an agent tells him that 'justice for you wife and son just isn't a priority right now' he decides if he wants something done about it he's going to have to do it himself. He does a little bit of research and connects El Lobo to a Columbian terrorist group and before you know it he heads south to sneak into Columbia with vengeance on his mind.

Brewer soon befriends a woman named Selena (Francesca Neri) and her son when he saves them from an altercation with some local ruffians, before heading into the thick of things to find his target. As he closes in on El Lobo, however, he has to question his own motives and ask himself if he's willing to resort to the same level as his enemy to avenge his family.

Despite some fun supporting performances from John Leguizomo, John Turturo, Francesca Neri and Cliff Curtis, this is Schwarzenegger's show all the way. He's the focal point of the film and it all revolves around him. The plot is more or less an afterthought that sets up his mission of revenge. It isn't smart, it isn't thought provoking, it's simply a basic set up for a few decent action sequences. Director Andrew Davis, probably best known for The Fugitive, does a fine job of keeping the plot moving and seeing as dramatic acting isn't really what Arnold is known for, it's probably a good thing that we don't spend too much time with his grieving and instead move rather quickly to the matter at hand - payback.

Had the film spent more time exploring Brewer's motives or delved deeper into what makes the terrorists in this film do what they do, it could have been a considerably more interesting picture. Had there been more to Brewer's family dynamic or more to his relationship with Selena to give the characters more substance, it also could have helped things a fair bit and given the movie more realism - something that it sorely lacks. Instead, Davis' film is content to simply play it safe, portraying Brewer as a fairly typical action hero, a good father who serves his community as a brave firefighter with nary a chink in his armor to take away from the shine. Likewise, El Lobo is pretty much a standard villain, his political motives are thin at best and while Curtis does his best to make the character his own, again, there's very little substance here.

That said, as entertainment first and foremost, the movie is alright. There are some impressive action set pieces and the location shooting, which was done in Mexico and not Columbia (which apparently would have been too dangerous to use) provides an interesting and scenic background for Brewer's one man war on terrorism to play across. There are certainly plenty worse action movies to waste you time on than this one, but you can't help but be left feeling like Collateral Damage could have and should have been something more than just another vacant vehicle for Schwarzenegger.

The Video:

Collateral Damage arrives on Blu-ray with a decent 1080p VC-1 encoded 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that, while not reference quality, is a big improvement over its standard definition counterpart. The best looking scenes are the ones that take place in the jungle, even if the enhanced resolution winds up making some of the optical effects more obvious (the scene where Arnold goes over the waterfall being a prime example). The greens and yellows of the jungle look great, very lush and detailed. Indoor scenes aren't quite as impressive though detail levels stay pretty strong. Skin tones look good, if just a tad waxy now and again, while black levels are consistent and strong. There aren't any issues with print damage though some mild film grain is apparent in some scenes, which is never really a problem. There aren't any obvious mpeg compression issues or shimmering problems and generally the well textured image looks pretty strong.

The Audio:

Warner Brothers provides English language Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound tracks and French and Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 dubbed tracks with subtitles available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Italian, Korean, Norwegian, and Polish. While there isn't as much rear channel activity in the TrueHD mix as you might hope for, the surrounds are used occasionally to fill in some ambient noise and effects. Bass response is very good, with a nice strong lower front end to bring some rumble to the room, while the front of the soundstage receives the majority of the action. Dialogue is clean and clear and there are no problems with hiss or distortion while levels remain properly balanced throughout the film. For an action-intensive picture such as this you'd expect more activity, so on that level it's a bit of a disappointment but the mix that is here sounds quite good regardless.

The Extras:

First up, as far as the extras go, is a commentary track from director Andrew Davis. While this solo talk is a little on the dry side, Davis does discuss what it was like working with one of the biggest action stars of all time, and about shooting the film in some rather interesting locations. He talks about casting, stunt work, cinematography and sound design throughout the track and essentially provides a reasonably thorough, if uninspired, look at what went into making Collateral Damage. Unfortunately Davis doesn't really delve into the release issues or history of the film, which could have made this more interesting than it is.

From there, we check out the first of two featurettes (both of which are presented in non-anamorphic widescreen standard definition) which is essentially a very basic fifteen minute making of documentary. Some sound bites from Schwarzenegger let us know that everyone involved in the film had a good time making it and that he appreciates the talent of the cast and crew, while some reasonably interesting behind the scenes footage provides a little bit of insight into the making of the film. The second featurette, The Hero In A New Era, is an eight minute piece that allows Davis and Schwarzenegger to talk about how the effects of the 9/11 attacks have changed movie heroes and how they affected this particular film. It's interesting enough but doesn't go in-depth or provide a whole lot of insight, rather, it glosses over things fairly quickly almost as if it doesn't want to go there.

Rounding out the extras are the films original theatrical trailer (the only extra in HD), a few uninteresting deleted scenes (six in total running a combined eight minutes), menus and chapter selection.

Overall:

Collateral Damage is noticeably improved in the A/V section even if the extras are identical to those found on the standard definition release, making this an easy upgrade for established fans of the movie. Those who aren't so sure about the movie itself, however, would be best served with a rental first. This isn't Arnold's best, but it isn't his worst either - it's decent, mindless entertainment and nothing more. Rent it.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.