Savages

Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.

For me, Oliver Stone tends to deliver uniformly solid films, rather than spectacular ones. I often don't quite get what he's going for and am sometimes left a tad bewildered as to what his aim might be. This holds true for Savages.

First off, I was impressed with the opening sequence, which leaves little to the imagination in introducing us to the brutal world we're about to enter. There are a few scenes of this nature peppered throughout the film, and they are probably the best it has to offer. In addition, some sections are quite stylish, at least in a modern sense, livening things up at seemingly random intervals without feeling out of place or forced. It does feel like a necessity at times though, given that the narrative can feel a little too familiar in places.  

In terms of characters, I found the two male leads unlikable from the off. One a cookie-cutter ex-soldier type, raring to go at all times with his team of highly skilled war veteran buddies, the other a pacifist hippy. This should perhaps make for an interesting dynamic between the two, but it never really comes to fruition. Platitudes are exchanged, compromises reached, but that's about it. Blake Lively's O is slightly better drawn and in all honesty, she's likely just a more skilled performer than either Kitsch or Taylor-Johnson (the proof is in Ben Affleck's The Town), and the difference can be quite noticeable at times. Thankfully, the rest of the main roles are taken up by some great showings (Benicio Del Toro, John Travolta and Salma Hayek amongst others), and they more or less carry the film.

Sadly, there were several points that induced a groan, most of which contributed to what feels like an overly long running time. It's never a good sign when the urge to check how much more you have to sit through before the movie is over becomes increasingly difficult to suppress. The main culprits for this are silly plot devices and a positively awful voice-over, which felt conspicuously unnecessary and only served to solidify the expectations of the obvious that most will have for the ending. 

All this comes across as though I hated it, but this isn't the case. There are some excellent moments, particularly those that fall on the more harrowing and difficult to watch end of the scale. There is also a great deal of tension whenever Del Toro's deranged Lado is around, mostly due to his volatile nature and capacity to unleash the violence bubbling just below the surface at the slightest provocation. His paranoia and sadistic lust for power hold things together very well throughout.

The Verdict:

6.5/10
Despite an overly long running time, there's plenty to enjoy here. The best bits are worthwhile, even if there is some chaff to get through to reach them. Worth checking out if not just for Del Toro, Travolta and Hayek.