It's The 80s All Over

Even though this is, technically, part of Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to acting, I didn't think I'd see old-school 80s one-liners in David Ayer's 'Sabotage', however, in the clip below, Arnie goes there. The line "Spend enough time on the job, the job bites back" comes straight out of that era. It's pure plastic, is all surface, but I'm thinking it has to be a nod to Schwarzenegger's glory days. Pure tongue-in-cheek. We're just joking. Over in a flash, don't worry. Now back to the regularly scheduled movie.

I refuse to belief Ayer, who wrote the script for 'Sabotage' with Skip Woods, would include this line without knowing exactly what he was doing. So, I'm not changing my mind. From what I've seen 'Sabotage' is, in all likelihood, is a very competently done action/suspense with a nicely thought out plot and performances that have more emotional density than you'd expect.

While they step in a little doo doo with that line, I think everyone was in on it. The acting (with the possible exception of Arnie's gravelly 'Don't make me pound you' voice) doesn't go full-80s schlock, and Olivia Williams' graceful technique pulls this one out of the fire.

A Few Seconds New Footage

Perhaps the best trailer for 'Sabotage' yet. This one features more of Olivia Williams' character's investigation. They're striving mightily to sell the dramatic aspects of this story and I'm betting it's there, worth it.

As I've said a couple times, this looks to be a cut above from an action helmer with chops, David Ayer.

'The Last Days On Mars' Featurette -- The Hierarchy Of Who Is Going To Die First -- or -- The 'Alien' Factor

The quote, to paraphrase, "There is a hierarchy of who's going to go first," is from Olivia Williams at the 2 minute mark in the featurette below. The concept, like the plot in general, reminds me of 'Alien'. I was so caught up in what was going on in that movie I forgot about usual conventions, which I'm typically expecting, sitting there waiting for them, way before they happen. 'Alien' was so fresh everything I knew about movies was pushed aside and I simply enjoyed the ride.

'The Last Days On Mars' comes across as having the same kind of freshness as 'Alien'. The potential is there at least. That's the impression I get from the footage we've gotten.

I love this kind of movie. I usually don't see them in theaters because I want to watch at home, on disc, so I can pause the movie at the turning points and savor where the story might go, its potential to develop. Sometimes, I'll go over the possibilities for days (especially if the movie doesn't look like it's going to be very good). Often, my imagination, the story I conjure up for myself, is better than what is in the movie so, for those few days, I enjoy a very entertaining yarn. But, every now and then, I'm pleasantly surprised and, often, it's a movie like 'The Last Days On Mars' that does the trick.

Clearly, the actors, studio, and producers, and everyone else involved realized this story bears striking similarities to the plot of 'Alien'. Elias Koteas even refers to the "In space, nobody can hear you scream" line. That's a very high bar (probably the highest), but this movie has a shot. I know, that's a tall order, but the setup is there, it has the right cinematic look, the cast has the goods, and it's based on a short story by Sydney James Bounds which often means there is a strong subtext and a level of character development you don't always find in movies done from an original screenplay.

Based on the trailer and this featurette, I'm thinking 'The Last Days On Mars' could be good. As good as 'Alien'? Who knows... If it's half as good it'll be a treat.