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. (11/15/2012)

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)

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. (01/27/2013)

Oliver Stone, even at his advanced age, still stuns with his creativity (this time, once again, extremely dynamic direction is also supported by a properly punchy "pulp screenplay") and very emphatically sends a raised middle finger to those who might want to clap him into the irons of old. I haven't seen so much energy, so many ideas, so many great actors, so much spontaneity, and actually a very (un)viewer-friendly ending to this extent anywhere lately. This is the Stone I've always enjoyed the most, whether in Natural Born Killers or U-Turn. A little bit the Coen brothers, a little our old pal Quentin, but in a lot of ways the master is still very original. Plus it’s all highly addictive :)))) (12/23/2013)

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. (12/07/2012)