Sabotage (2014)

analogbear40 said:It’s honestly shocking how lackluster and underwhelming this turned out for a major Hollywood A-list production.
The script and the dialogue? A total disaster.

The only thing that might save it is the rumor that the original cut ran nearly three hours and was intended to be a gripping mystery thriller, but due to heavy studio interference, we ended up with what we got.

That’s because this isn't actually a top-tier Hollywood A-lister, regardless of how they marketed it or what the budget looked like.

In reality, this sits somewhere in the awkward middle ground between a TV movie and a high-budget B-movie.

They basically hired former Hollywood stars who aren't quite big enough for the current Marvel/DC/Hasbro/CGI spectacle era anymore; they're just looking for one last decent credit on TV before retirement.

On the flip side, you have TV actors who used to be somewhat relevant, but they mostly end up degrading their careers by jumping into low-budget action garbage.

This particular film is just a mediocre, barely watchable blend of both those scenarios.

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Honestly, this movie was shockingly bad.
I knew who took the payoff right from the jump, so that final showdown felt incredibly underwhelming.
I’m usually not a fan of that PG-13 nonsense, but if there isn't at least five "fucks" per minute, I'm basically losing my mind.
I don't even know what to say—the trailer promised some spectacular action, but the fights actually look like they're still in pre-production.
2/10

Arnold Schwarzenegger is just... well, Arnold! I guess the movie is just predictably formulaic junk despite having some heavy hitters in the cast. Billy Worthington's role feels pretty uninspired, honestly... and after Killing, it seems like Mireille Enos has just been lost in bad projects, first all that zombie stuff and now this! The actors are talented, but maybe if they had a different director, producer, or screenwriter—or even just the guy carrying the coffee—things might have turned out differently. It’s a shame it just fades into obscurity like this...

Grace Edwards said:Honestly, this movie was shockingly bad.
I knew who took the payoff right from the jump, so that final showdown felt incredibly underwhelming.
I’m usually not a fan of that PG-13 nonsense, but if there isn't at least five "fucks" per minute, I'm basically losing my mind.
I don't even know what to say—the trailer promised some spectacular action, but the fights actually look like they're still in pre-production.
2/10

I think it's been a long time since I've sat through something this disjointed, especially with such terrible chemistry between the entire cast.

I caught this one a few days ago, and honestly—Arnold Schwarzenegger had way better movies back in the day.

To be fair, the whole movie was pretty much ruined by that female lead. Her acting was just terrible—all that "f*** you bitch, I'll shut you down completely" attitude was so forced even Michelle Rodriguez would probably cringe watching it.🙄

Look, I don't want to sound sexist, but realistically, how is a woman supposed to be part of some hardcore undercover DEA or rogue S.W.A.T. team?
Failures like that generally just wreck the vibe of any movie for me. I'm not saying women should be chained to a kitchen or anything, but in the real world, a job like that would be physically overwhelming for a woman...

I mean, Sergio Leone is probably the only one who could have actually fixed this mess. Women in these kinds of movies can end up having such tiny roles, or sometimes just nothing at all (unless we're talking about someone like Claudia Cardinale, haha). Honestly, it’s kind of a shame because Arnold Schwarzenegger actually gave a decent performance here, but when you just pile a bunch of total nobodies around him... I don't know, there's no substance, no direction, and the whole thing just feels aimless. That's why the final result turned out the way it did.

Eric Patel7 said:I caught this one a few days ago, and honestly—Arnold Schwarzenegger had way better movies back in the day.

To be fair, the whole movie was pretty much ruined by that female lead. Her acting was just terrible—all that "f*** you bitch, I'll shut you down completely" attitude was so forced even Michelle Rodriguez would probably cringe watching it.🙄

Look, I don't want to sound sexist, but realistically, how is a woman supposed to be part of some hardcore undercover DEA or rogue S.W.A.T. team?
Failures like that generally just wreck the vibe of any movie for me. I'm not saying women should be chained to a kitchen or anything, but in the real world, a job like that would be physically overwhelming for a woman...

Well, that actually is the entire plot of the film. That’s the one thing that keeps you engaged—barely—to find out who the killer is, even though the title pretty much tells you someone from the team did it.

If this weren't a "woman's movie," it would have been over in ten minutes.

And what you're saying isn't even sexism. Women simply don't belong in those environments. Among men, there are instinctive codes of conduct and mutual respect.

Women tend to be more prone to being underhanded and manipulative.

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Keith Jones36 said:Well, that actually is the entire plot of the film. That’s the one thing that keeps you engaged—barely—to find out who the killer is, even though the title pretty much tells you someone from the team did it.

If this weren't a "woman's movie," it would have been over in ten minutes.

And what you're saying isn't even sexism. Women simply don't belong in those environments. Among men, there are instinctive codes of conduct and mutual respect.

Women tend to be more prone to being underhanded and manipulative.

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One of the female agent's specific assignments within the squad was to lure in and eliminate that drug lord at the very beginning, a task she executed flawlessly precisely because of those "feminine qualities"—namely, the underhandedness and scheming you mentioned—so... 😁 Surely there’s room for at least one woman on a team? Any perceived shortcomings in terms of raw physical strength or pure stamina can easily be compensated for by other skill sets, depending entirely on what the mission requires.

The movie isn't bad, per se, but it certainly could have been handled better and felt much more convincing in certain aspects...

goldenscout14 said:One of the female agent's specific assignments within the squad was to lure in and eliminate that drug lord at the very beginning, a task she executed flawlessly precisely because of those "feminine qualities"—namely, the underhandedness and scheming you mentioned—so... 😁 Surely there’s room for at least one woman on a team? Any perceived shortcomings in terms of raw physical strength or pure stamina can easily be compensated for by other skill sets, depending entirely on what the mission requires.

The movie isn't bad, per se, but it certainly could have been handled better and felt much more convincing in certain aspects...

I mean, obviously, she had to seduce him. If they had just staged a frontal assault on the house and wiped everyone out—like they did five minutes later—wouldn't that have worked? 😬 Her entire role in the movie is basically just a plot device; it was pretty obvious from the jump that she was going to be the 'traitor.'

Sophia Thomas7 said:I mean, obviously, she had to seduce him. If they had just staged a frontal assault on the house and wiped everyone out—like they did five minutes later—wouldn't that have worked? 😬 Her entire role in the movie is basically just a plot device; it was pretty obvious from the jump that she was going to be the 'traitor.'

Look, we aren't talking about 2001: A Space Odyssey here; this is an action thriller. In this genre, logic frequently takes a backseat to pure spectacle. However, with a direct frontal attack, that second lord—if he’s actually organized—would have plenty of time to hide or escape, whereas this way, they have a backup plan, specifically her, to take him out without him even realizing what hit him. But fine, sure, you can certainly criticize that, along with several other things; I'm not saying it's a total catastrophe, but it's certainly not a film that's going to stick in my memory for long.

goldenscout14 said:One of the female agent's specific assignments within the squad was to lure in and eliminate that drug lord at the very beginning, a task she executed flawlessly precisely because of those "feminine qualities"—namely, the underhandedness and scheming you mentioned—so... 😁 Surely there’s room for at least one woman on a team? Any perceived shortcomings in terms of raw physical strength or pure stamina can easily be compensated for by other skill sets, depending entirely on what the mission requires.

The movie isn't bad, per se, but it certainly could have been handled better and felt much more convincing in certain aspects...

Yeah, I completely blanked on that scene...

Arnold Schwarzenegger miscalculated by ignoring that certain feminine quality. Had he been surrounded by his usual crowd of loyal, obedient, and naive men, the theft would have slipped right past them—just as it ultimately did.

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Keith Jones36 said:Well, that actually is the entire plot of the film. That’s the one thing that keeps you engaged—barely—to find out who the killer is, even though the title pretty much tells you someone from the team did it.

If this weren't a "woman's movie," it would have been over in ten minutes.

And what you're saying isn't even sexism. Women simply don't belong in those environments. Among men, there are instinctive codes of conduct and mutual respect.

Women tend to be more prone to being underhanded and manipulative.

-
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Look, I wasn't even talking about character here—I'm talking about physical readiness. A woman just can't simply be part of a team like that.

If you want to talk about women, look at Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor in T2. Those are actually well-written female characters because they’re shown having weaknesses too.

But movie characters like this woman in Sabotage? I just can't take them seriously, and honestly, they completely ruin the movie for me.🤷

Eric Patel7 said:Look, I wasn't even talking about character here—I'm talking about physical readiness. A woman just can't simply be part of a team like that.

If you want to talk about women, look at Ellen Ripley or Sarah Connor in T2. Those are actually well-written female characters because they’re shown having weaknesses too.

But movie characters like this woman in Sabotage? I just can't take them seriously, and honestly, they completely ruin the movie for me.🤷

Look, Ripley and Connor are serious characters... specifically within the context of sci-fi films.
Neither of them are professional soldiers or cops, and neither belongs to some organized squad; they both operate as individuals.

Ultimately, we're talking about characterization, not preparedness. Despite her issues with drugs and PMS, this woman in Sabotage is still superior to Alijeki or the Terminator.

Just try viewing her as a positive character in the film, flaws and all.

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Keith Jones36 said:Look, Ripley and Connor are serious characters... specifically within the context of sci-fi films.
Neither of them are professional soldiers or cops, and neither belongs to some organized squad; they both operate as individuals.

Ultimately, we're talking about characterization, not preparedness. Despite her issues with drugs and PMS, this woman in Sabotage is still superior to Alijeki or the Terminator.

Just try viewing her as a positive character in the film, flaws and all.

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Look, where did I ever say Ripley and Connor were "serious" characters? I said they were well-designed characters.

The woman from Sabotage is superior? In what way? By how many times she manages to cram "fuck" into a single sentence?

Besides, you completely missed the point of my post.

She’s a great actress, but she just doesn't work here. I have to say, personally, I find her to be one of the less attractive women in Hollywood!

Honestly, folks, this movie is a total riot from start to finish, and it’s executed with a very specific kind of intention. Every single detail is dialed up to eleven, but somehow, it all feels perfectly placed. If you're looking for credibility or realism, you won't find any here—not even in theory. It makes you wonder why David Ayer, acting as his own writer, would bother seeking input from Skip Woods, an author who is frankly far inferior. My advice? Treat it as pure trash and just enjoy the ride.

more at:
http://film-na-dan.blogspot.com/2014/08/sabotage.html

Jamie Turner80 said:Honestly, folks, this movie is a total riot from start to finish, and it’s executed with a very specific kind of intention. Every single detail is dialed up to eleven, but somehow, it all feels perfectly placed. If you're looking for credibility or realism, you won't find any here—not even in theory. It makes you wonder why David Ayer, acting as his own writer, would bother seeking input from Skip Woods, an author who is frankly far inferior. My advice? Treat it as pure trash and just enjoy the ride.

more at:
http://film-na-dan.blogspot.com/2014/08/sabotage.html

Breacher is trash, but it's highly entertaining trash.
This is basically just a pile of crap.