Collateral Damage(2002 film)

For the Canadian short film, seeCollateral Damage (1993 film).

Collateral Damageis a 2002 Americanvigilanteaction-thriller filmdirected byAndrew Davisand starringArnold Schwarzenegger,Elias Koteas,Francesca Neri,Cliff Curtis,John Leguizamo,andJohn Turturro.The film tells the story ofLos Angelesfirefighter Gordon Brewer (Schwarzenegger), who seeks to avenge his son's and wife's deaths at the hands of a guerrilla commando, by traveling toColombiaand facing his family's killers.

Collateral Damage
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Andrew Davis
Written by	David Griffiths Ronald Roose
Produced by	Steven Reuther David Foster
Starring	Arnold Schwarzenegger Elias Koteas Francesca Neri Cliff Curtis John Leguizamo John Turturro
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Edited by	Dov Hoenig Dennis Virkler
Music by	Graeme Revell
Production company	Bel-Air Entertainment
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures
Release dates	February 4, 2002(2002-02-04)(Premiere) February 8, 2002(2002-02-08)(United States)
Running time	109 minutes
Country	United States
Languages	English Spanish
Budget	$85 million
Box office	$78.4 million

Collateral Damagewas released in the United States on February 8, 2002, to negative reviews, and was acommercial failure.

Plot

A bomb detonates in the plaza of theColombianConsulate building inLos Angeles,killing nine people, including a caravan of Colombian officials and American intelligence agents. Among the civilians killed are the wife and son of anLAFDfirefighter, Captain Gordon "Gordy" Brewer, who was injured in the explosion. A tape is sent to theU.S. State Department,in which a masked man calling himself"El Lobo"(The Wolf) claims responsibility, justifying it as retaliation for the oppression of Colombia by the United States. TheFBIbelievesEl Lobois a Colombian terrorist named Claudio Perrini.CIAOfficer Peter Brandt, the Colombia Station Chief, is harshly reprimanded for the incident by aSenate Oversight Committee,which promptly terminates all CIA operations in Colombia. Brandt angrily returns toMompósand meets with his paramilitary allies to plan a major offensive to take down Claudio.

Frustrated at the politicalred taperegarding the investigation, Brewer travels to Mompós to personally hunt down Claudio but is quickly arrested for illegal entry. The guerrillas stage a prison uprising to free their comrades and abduct Brewer to demand a large ransom for him. Brandt's unit is alerted to Brewer's presence in Colombia but arrive too late. Brewer breaks out of the prison, evades capture, and secures a guerrilla zone pass from Canadian mechanic Sean Armstrong. Armstrong introduces him to drug runner Felix Ramirez, the manager of the cocaine distribution facility that finances the guerrillas. Masquerading as a "mechanic", Brewer rigs severalimprovised explosivesand destroys the facility. Felix is blamed for the destruction of the drug plant and is executed in front of a hiding Brewer's eyes. Brewer infiltrates Claudio's headquarters and plants a bomb to kill him, but he is captured when he tries to prevent a woman, Selena, from being caught in the blast radius along with her son, Mauro. At Claudio's home compound, Selena reveals she is Claudio's wife. She and Claudio once lost their own child during an American attack, which compelled Claudio to become a terrorist; Selena found and adopted Mauro, whose parents were killed in the attack. Regardless, Selena eventually sympathizes with Brewer and admits that Claudio is planning another bombing inWashington, D.C.

Meanwhile, Brandt's unit locates Claudio's compound and launches an attack. During the ensuing shootout, Selena helps free Brewer and, along with Brandt, travels back to the State Department in Washington, D.C. to help the search effort for Claudio. Selena identifiesUnion Stationas the target, and the FBI investigates. On the pretense of using the lavatory, Selena excuses herself from the command room and becomes irritated when Mauro refuses to come with her. When Brewer sees Selena make the same gesture as the masked man who claimed to be El Lobo in the tape, he realizes thatshewas the Wolf all along, and Claudio serves as her figurehead, and that the entire motive behind their cause is personal revenge for the death of their daughter at the hands of the US. Furthermore, Brewer surmises therealtarget is the State Department, and that he was used to help Selena get past the building's security. Brewer quickly throws Mauro's bomb-laden toy dinosaur out a window seconds before it explodes. Selena then murders a federal agent, taking her duty piece and identification card. Brandt, realizing Brewer's suspicions, is shot and killed by Selena while trying to stop her from fleeing the building.

Brewer chases Selena to the basement of the building where she and Claudio ride off through the tunnels on a motorcycle. Brewer finds the tunnel control console and shuts the gates, preventing their escape. Brewer uses an axe to rupture some gas lines along the walls of the tunnel and, as they ride back, Selena shoots at Brewer, unwittingly igniting the gas. Brewer jumps through a doorway just as the entire tunnel explodes. Selena and Claudio survive the blast, however, and attack him simultaneously. After a short, hand-to-hand fight, Selena is electrocuted by being tossed on the exposed circuitry of the control panel, and Claudio is himself killed when Brewer throws an axe into his chest before he can detonate a second bomb in the State Department.

In the aftermath, Brewer carries Mauro in his arms as they leave the State Department. A newscast voiceover explains that Brewer will receive thePresidential Medal of Freedomfor preventing one of the worst terrorist attacks in U.S. history from taking place.

Cast

• Arnold Schwarzeneggeras Captain Gordon "Gordy" Brewer, A Los Angeles firefighter who seeks Colombian terrorists responsible for the killing of his wife and son.
• Elias Koteasas Peter Brandt, the head of the CIA station of Colombia.
• Francesca Nerias Selena Perrini, the wife of Claudio.
• Cliff Curtisas Claudio "El Lobo" Perrini, a Colombian terrorist known as the Wolf.
• John Leguizamoas Felix Ramirez, the manager of cocaine distribution facility.
• John Turturroas Sean Armstrong, a Canadian mechanic.
• Lindsay Frostas Anne Brewer, Gordy's wife.
• Ethan Dampf as Matt Brewer, Gordy's son.
• Miguel Sandovalas FBI Special Agent Joe Phipps, the FBI agent in charge.
• Harry Lennixas FBI Agent Dray, Phipps's FBI partner
• Jane Lynchas Agent Russo
• Tyler Poseyas Mauro, the adopted son of Selena and Claudio.
• Fernando Sarfati as Federale
• Jsu Garciaas Roman, Claudio's right-hand man.
• Michael Milhoanas Jack, Gordy's fellow fireman.
• Rick Worthyas Ronnie, Gordy's fellow fireman.
• Raymond Cruzas Junior, Gordy's fellow fireman.
• J. Kenneth Campbellas Ed Coonts, the former military advisor of Colombia who gives Brewer advice to survive Colombia.
• Jossara Jinaroas Rosetta
• Rodrigo Obregón as Rodrigo
• Michael Cavanaughas Chairman Paul Devereaux
• Nicholas Pryoras Senator Delich

Production

The original script for the film had the same plotline but would have addressed American policy in the Middle East by taking place inLibya;director Davis and his screenwriters chose Colombia as the new location because it had not been used as extensively and touched on a current geopolitical conflict area.

The film was shot inLos Angeles,New York andWashington, D.C.The scenes that representColombiawere shot in the town of Coatepec andXalapain the state of Veracruz,Mexico.Filming in Mexico lasted ten weeks. First were shot during first eight weeks and then returned to roll other two.

Release

Marketing

TheSeptember 11 attacksaffected the release and editing of the final film. The film's original trailer was scrapped because it showed a major bomb attack in the United States. The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 5, 2001, but it was postponed due to its terrorism theme and the attacks.Following this, Warner Bros. removed any mentions ofCollateral Damagefrom the website, radio stations, television and movie theaters.All trailers and posters for the film were also recalled.Eventually, it was released on February 8, 2002. The premiere was held four days earlier.Collateral Damagewas also supposed to include Colombian actressSofía Vergarain the role of an airplane hijacker; however the scene where Vergara would hijack a plane was cut from the film.

Home media

Warner Home Videoreleased the film onDVDandVHSin the United States on July 30, 2002.

Reception

Box office

Collateral Damageearned a total of $15.2 million during its opening weekend.It ranked number one at the box office ahead ofBig Fat Liar,RollerballandBlack Hawk Down.This was also the firstArnold Schwarzeneggerfilm to do so sinceBatman & Robinin 1997.For its second weekend, the film dropped into fifth place behindJohn Q.,Crossroads,Return to Never LandandBig Fat Liar,making $8.7 million.In Spain, it opened in second place behindMonsters, Inc.with $1.1 million in its first weekend.The film made $78.4 million worldwide against its $85 million budget.

Critical response

Rotten Tomatoes,rated it 19% based on reviews from 142 critics, with an average rating of 4/10. The site's consensus reads: "Despite its timely subject matter,Collateral Damageis an unexceptional and formulaic action thriller. "Metacriticrated it 33 out of 100 based on reviews from 34 critics.Audiences polled byCinemaScoregave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.

Desson HoweofThe Washington Postcalled the film "head-scratchingly ordinary" and wrote, "Even by the fast-and-loose standards of action filmmaking,Collateral Damageis a disappointment. "Claudia Puig ofUSA Todaysaid, "It's laughably unbelievable, yet it's hard to snicker at anything involving terrorists, evenCollateral's obscure Colombian variety. What we get is simply another opportunity for Schwarzenegger — who seems to be in perpetual Terminator mode — to flex his muscles. "Roger Ebertof theChicago Sun-Timesawarded the film three out of four stars and described it as "a skillfully made example of your typical Schwarzenegger action film".

See also

• List of American films of 2002
• Arnold Schwarzenegger filmography

External links

• Collateral DamageatIMDb
• Collateral Damageat theTCM Movie Database
• Collateral DamageatRotten Tomatoes
• Collateral DamageatMetacritic
• Collateral DamageatBox Office Mojo