By Judicious
Format:Amazon Instant Video|Amazon Verified Purchase
I enjoyed all 132 minutes of this film, although I was reluctant to rent it at first based on some of the negative reviews here. It was one of the better films I've seen in a while. Without getting into the plot (do we really need long, amateur interpretations of the plot?), it was also better than what I expected after viewing the trailer. If you're considering renting it don't hesitate. I'm not recommending purchasing it since it's not the type of movie someone would watch more than once. The entire cast did a superb job of making this movie highly entertaining. The supporting roles played by Travolta, Hayek, and Del Toro were superbly done in my opinion. Most of the negative reviews seem to be from people having higher expectations from Oliver Stone, but I was simply looking for something worth seeing. Thank you for taking the time to read my review.
By M. Oleson
Format:Blu-ray
Oliver Stone returns to his most violent movie since "Natural Born Killer," this time focusing on a couple marijuana entrepreneurs and their shared girlfriend. Chon (Taylor Kitsch in his best movie role yet) is a former Navy SEAL who manages to bring back potent marijuana seeds from his tour in Afghanistan. His lifelong friend Ben (Aaron Johnson) is hooked on Buddhism and doing charitable work in Africa. His college degree is in business and botany. How perfect. Together they amicably share a love interest in Ophelia (another surprising performance from Blake Lively), who is known as "O."
As the story centerpiece "O" is the glue that holds things together. She's also the chief weed sampler. The story suggests that this relationship may be a bit more than two boys liking a girl but that question is never quite answered. Hmm. All is well until they get an "invitation" to join a powerful Mexican cartel headed by Elena (Salma Hayek). Saying no is not a good idea, as the guys are exposed to the grisly beheadings of cartel foes. Elena and her California chieftain (an iniquitous Benicio Del Toro) need the secret to the THC-rich strain of pot so they kidnap poor "O" on the eve of trio's departure to a secret location in Indonesia.
Here is Elena's deal. She gets 30% of the revenue, $13 million up front and they keep "O" under wraps for 1 year. After that, the business venture ends. Naturally Ben and Chon don't like the arrangement. Especially Chon who realizes, the ruse will never end. Added to the fun is John Travolta who plays a senior DEA agent. He is on the take from Ben and Chon and may be playing all sides. Stone gets strong performances from his cast in this savage thriller. I can't help but wonder however why Stone decided to go with two endings. The first one was fine.
As the story centerpiece "O" is the glue that holds things together. She's also the chief weed sampler. The story suggests that this relationship may be a bit more than two boys liking a girl but that question is never quite answered. Hmm. All is well until they get an "invitation" to join a powerful Mexican cartel headed by Elena (Salma Hayek). Saying no is not a good idea, as the guys are exposed to the grisly beheadings of cartel foes. Elena and her California chieftain (an iniquitous Benicio Del Toro) need the secret to the THC-rich strain of pot so they kidnap poor "O" on the eve of trio's departure to a secret location in Indonesia.
Here is Elena's deal. She gets 30% of the revenue, $13 million up front and they keep "O" under wraps for 1 year. After that, the business venture ends. Naturally Ben and Chon don't like the arrangement. Especially Chon who realizes, the ruse will never end. Added to the fun is John Travolta who plays a senior DEA agent. He is on the take from Ben and Chon and may be playing all sides. Stone gets strong performances from his cast in this savage thriller. I can't help but wonder however why Stone decided to go with two endings. The first one was fine.
By wexgate
Format:Blu-ray
I was very excited when I saw that Savages was being made into a movie. The book is so dark funny and exciting all at the same time. I could think of no one better to direct than Oliver Stone. He has the perfect sensibilities for such material.
I left the theater wanting to ask for my money back. It was very clear that Stone phoned this one in. The majority of the dark humor, that was so prevalent in the book, has been erased from the movie. A perfect example of this is the exclusion of O's mother from the movie. That character is wonderfully amusing and gave great insight into the character of O. The one exception to this is John Travolta as Ben and Chan's FBI contact. He turns in a wonderfully wacky and entertaining performance that I feel is on par with his Pulp Fiction turn. Travolta seems to be the only one who looked at the source material.
I also have to address the ending. There has never been a more blatant example of a studio forcing a director to change an ending. It is weird awkward and just plain embarrassing. What happened to the Oliver Stone who directed Natural Born Killers? This material was in desperate need of that edge and humor. Does Stone not have final cut approval? I certainly hope he did not have it on this piece of junk. Read the book and don't waste your time on the movie.
I left the theater wanting to ask for my money back. It was very clear that Stone phoned this one in. The majority of the dark humor, that was so prevalent in the book, has been erased from the movie. A perfect example of this is the exclusion of O's mother from the movie. That character is wonderfully amusing and gave great insight into the character of O. The one exception to this is John Travolta as Ben and Chan's FBI contact. He turns in a wonderfully wacky and entertaining performance that I feel is on par with his Pulp Fiction turn. Travolta seems to be the only one who looked at the source material.
I also have to address the ending. There has never been a more blatant example of a studio forcing a director to change an ending. It is weird awkward and just plain embarrassing. What happened to the Oliver Stone who directed Natural Born Killers? This material was in desperate need of that edge and humor. Does Stone not have final cut approval? I certainly hope he did not have it on this piece of junk. Read the book and don't waste your time on the movie.
