Summer of Netflix Day 40 - Sabotage

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Joel: Thanks to what was pretty much an eight year break from filmmaking, Arnold Schwarzenegger has a pretty clear line between the “action star” part of his career and the “action star who’s still got it” part. Sabotage is one of the first handful of that “still got it” part of his career where we get to see if he in fact does still have it. For the most part he does. He’s still fun to watch, and even though he’s clearly filling in the “old timer” role now, he’s still a pretty great presence on screen. It’s not a bad movie, not a great one either. It kind of hits that middle where you think it might have been a better script for a direct to DVD movie but if it had gone that way, you could have seen it fairing ok in theaters as well. It’s a good first step for Schwarzenegger getting back into the action genre and getting to find what types of movies fit him best in his new role as “grizzled, experienced guy.” It looks like he’s going to be good at it.

Chris:  I had a lot of high hopes for this one because I loved End of Watch and this movie seemed to be the spiritual sequel for it. The big difference is that End of Watch is more of a brief look into the lives of two police officers that end tragically whereas Sabotage is more of a mystery as we’re all trying to figure out who is taking out each member of a DEA tactical squad. The premise, action and Schwarzenegger’s performance are all interesting and good to watch but the script seems to be the biggest flaw. The script is overly-simplistic and juvenile which usually wouldn’t be an issue with action movies but this plot relies and dialogue and a fair amount of expository information. Also I feel like Joe Manganiello was wasted as more of a sidekick character. When it was revealed as to who was responsible, there was no real explanation or reveal of what exactly how they did it. David Ayer hit a home run with End of Watch and a double with Sabotage. Hopefully he’ll swing for another home run with Suicide Squad.

Your Viewing Homework for Tomorrow: Zoolander

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