The Film
It's your classic love story between a girl, a guy and another guy. However, this is no rom-com. It's Savages, a drug-fueled binge -- and director Oliver Stone is the pusher.
Savages is also not the typical Stone film; not a recent one, anyway. Instead, Savages is reminiscent of Stone's Natural Born Killers days. It's got the weird, warped love story and uber-violent overtones. That said, Taylor Kitsch (John Carter) and Aaron Johnson (Kick Ass) combined can't touch Woody Harrelson, and Blake Lively (The Town) is certainly no Juliette Lewis.
The three make for a pretty predictable couple, though. Ben (Johnson) is an earthy botinist, who considers himself to be a healer of both plants and the world. Chon (Kitsch) is the cold, violent one. They're partners in a marajuana business and partners when it comes to a girlfriend. They both share O (Blake Lively), a blonde beauty who seems to be a wizard in the bedroom, with a credit card, and with very little else.
It all sounds like the grounds for something good and violent, but Savages just isn't savage enough. OK, it does have its share of firearms and a few decapitations. However, we're talking about Oliver Stone here. Also, it's hard to care about O, who basically seems like she's here to be the eye candy. Savages certainly has its moments. (John Travolta being one of them.) However, it also strings you along waiting for a bomb to drop. Instead, it just kind of fizzles.
Want to see a truly savage review? Check out Joe Lozito's theatrical review of Savages.
The Picture
It shouldn't be surprising that this stylish movie has a 2.40:1 transfer to match. The film opens with gorgeous, bright Laguna Beach imagery. During those scenes, you'll be treated to sun-kissed skintones and a gorgeous color palette. The detail is very nice as well, showing off a lot of stubble, individual strands of Blake Lively's blonde hair, and the many the creases on every joint. That type of imagery pops up a lot during the film, but it's mixed with something more dark, more grainy, and a lot more difficult to decipher. That flip-flop may annoy some viewers, but it's really all part of Oliver Stone's plan.
The Sound
Just when the film starts to drag, the DTS-HD Master Audio track will slap you out of that stupor. It's not the most action-packed track, but has enought bullets, explosions and overall depth to keep your adenaline pumping. The dialogue is also surprisingly clear, even during the film's stoniest moments.
The Extras
The Savages set includes an unrated version of the film, deleted scenes and two audio commentary tracks, including one with director Oliver Stone sitting alone. The best of the bunch is "Stone Cold Savages," a five-part making-of featurette that covers most of the film from inception to the very end. It has a ton of interesting tidbits, including how filmmakers made fake weed look like real weed and how Benecio del Toro seemed to spend a good portion of his youth watching Grease.
Final Thoughts
Even if you kept the bad acting and the cliches, Savage still should have been a better movie. Despite the appearance that it's this rapid-fire gunfight, it wastes a lot of time -- none of which is spent on character development. It's got an excellent Blu-ray, but it's a guilty pleasure at best.
Product Details
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