Okay. Sure. Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to feature films isn't going great. 'Escape Plan' and 'The Last Stand', the two movies he's been the star or co-star of, kinda just laid there.
'Sabotage' is on another level, though. David Ayer wrote and directed 'End of Watch' and gave that film a cool visual style that didn't have a technique-y feel but was, nonetheless, completely assured. He co-writes (with Skip Woods) and directs 'Sabotage' and, from the footage I've seen, brings even more cinematic panache. I'm probably out on a limb a bit saying that, but, yeah, that's what I'm picking up.
But, back to Arnie. It's hard not to notice you don't get a good look at his face in this new trailer until the 1:00 minute mark (out of a three minute runtime). So, yes, he's front and center on posters but they're not selling this as a Schwarzenegger movie in this trailer. This is sold (at :25) as being "From the Director of End of Watch". It's a David Ayer bust 'em up, not a Schwarzenegger gig, and that ain't a bad thing.
The other thing that's hard not to notice is the level of violence and gruesome detail. Not out of place considering the bad guys are in the 'Cartel', however we've not seen much of that kind of butchery in movies until just the last couple years. It's been in the news, along with horribly graphic photographs (if you know where to look), but it hasn't been in movies. It's safe to say the operatic vision of gangster violence of classic movies like 'The Godfather' and 'Goodfellas' is the cinematic vocabulary of a bygone era.
I'm loving 'Sabotage' so far. This movie might become a reference for people making action films down the road.
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