Collateral Damage feels like a late Eighties or early Nineties action film that for some reason got released too late. I am aware that because of 9/11 the release of this film was postponed for a year still doesn't explain why the film looks and plays out as a direct to video title.
It's rather shocking how cheaply made this looks at times. It had a substantial budget of around 85 million dollars. With that amount there is no excuse why this film looks so cheap. Certainly there are some moments that look big and explosive however it never feels like it's grand. Almost like a lot of the violence and explosions have been toned down. Maybe they cut the film to make it less violent and hurtful because of 9/11. I almost want to blame director Andrew Davis but I know it can't be him since there are hints of his brilliance he had shown in Above the Law, Under Siege and The Fugutive. Perhaps it's Arnie himself who basically plays everyman. Except he is a fireman and therefore has some aptitude to be strong and knowledgeable about explosions. I guess it works. When disaster strikes and his wife and son get killed due to a large explosion set off by terrorist The Wolf Arnie's character is out for revenge.
What ensues is his journey to get his revenge. The one thing I found ironic whether it was intentional or not that Jordy Brewer (Arnie) gets outraged even further for his wife and son to be called collateral damage. They weren't supposed to get hurt but it's waved off as regrettable but unavoidable. On his path to death and destruction many innocent people get caught in the crossfire. Sure one could argue these people were all bad people in their own right. However they didn't do anything to him and certainly didn't deserve death as a result of being involved with him. Jordy never reflects on this. And even the main villains fail to make a convincing argument against Jordy's actions. Still not going to lie. When the action is happening it's sweet. Perhaps not entirely same as Arnie in his good years but still a whole lot better than the direct to video crap that is made today.
Overall there are a lot of flaws and problems with this film if you allow those to become an issue for you. But if you just take this for what it is. An old school action film featuring Arnie kicking ass. How can you go wrong?
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