Savages (2012)

SAVAGES
crime drama thriller
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8imzQaoEwsA
Director: Oliver Stone
Screenwriters: Oliver Stone, Shane Salerno, Don Winslow.
Release Date: July 6, 2012.

Cast:
Taylor Kitsch as Chon
Aaron Johnson as Ben
Blake Lively as Ophelia "O"
Salma Hayek as Elena
Sandra Echeverria as Magda
Diego Cataño as Esteban
Emile Hirsch as Spin
Joel David Moore as Craig
John Travolta as Dennis
Dennis Bichir as Alex
Trevor Donovan as Matt
Matt Ralph Echemendia as Pavao
Benicio Del Toro in the Lado ensemble

The movie is based on the book of the same name by Don Winslow.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1615065/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savages_(2012_film)







http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8imzQaoEwsA

Man, I just read over the plot for this movie and it sounded totally brainless

Grace King21 said:Man, I was reading the plot summary for this movie recently and it just seemed so incredibly stupid.

The endless, gratuitous violence fails to compensate for an incredibly thin plot and a truly pathetic, irritating performance by Blake Lively.

A disappointing showing from Oliver Stone...

Watch out for Oliver Stone! I honestly can't figure out why such great directors seem to hit this wall at some point in their careers. I grew up watching Stone's movies like Platoon, Natural Born Killers, and JFK... then he had that great U-Turn too. They were all amazing... but this? It just doesn't feel like his work!!🙂
I leave the theater feeling totally pissed off at the director.🤷
The characters are just so damn boring, especially the women, though her two co-stars aren't much better! Maybe the only saving grace is Salma!

Keith Jones36 said:The gore and pointless violence don't even come close to making up for the weak plot and Blake Lively’s pathetic, irritating acting.

What she does isn't even acting—she talks like she's dying, and her facial expressions look like she's just high. It’s awful. Honestly, watching her try to act is depressing. Actually, calling them "tries" is a stretch because she looks like she isn't even putting in any effort. The only thing she could actually pull off is falling into a coma.🤣

Man, what an absolute blast! I honestly loved every single second of this ride. It feels like it’s been ages since Oliver Stone actually delivered something this punchy and unapologetic during the 2000s! One thing that really struck me was how there isn't a single "good guy" in sight—everyone is essentially a villain. Some are clearly more monstrous than others, obviously, but Stone handles that moral gray area so masterfully. He weaves it all together with those intense sequences of drug percentages, constant psychological mind games, and those sudden, jarring bursts of extreme violence that just catch you off guard. And don't even get me started on the cast; they were phenomenal! I honestly can't wrap my head around why this movie didn't hit harder with mainstream audiences... it's just brilliant. Plus, instead of that gloomy, dark crime vibe we usually see, it’s set against the gorgeous, sun-drenched backdrop of California, bursting with vibrant, almost oversaturated colors. It’s such a sweet, high-octane trip. I can't recommend it enough!

Hands down the absolute worst movie I’ve sat through all year—and trust me, I’ve watched a massive amount of garbage lately!

A bit disappointing... ☕

I don't think I've ever seen a serious movie about drug cartels handled with such a gritty, raw
approach before.
Honestly, it was a total breath of fresh air—actually way better than what I was expecting
from a film like this. It might have been a bit much on the violence for my personal taste, but then again, considering the subject matter, things could have easily been a hell of a lot worse.

Honestly, it’s looking pretty bad

A total lemon. Given that it’s an Oliver Stone film... just a complete dud.

This is actually the first movie I've turned off before even hitting the halfway mark this year, and honestly, after wading through so much mediocre garbage lately, I deserved better. Taylor Kitsch—if that’s even how you spell it—is just a terrible actor. His whole vibe is basically, "just look pretty, use an ultra-cool deep voice, keep your face completely frozen, and the teenagers will love it." It's such a joke. The worst part? He isn't even the weakest link in the cast. He's just way too underwhelming for an Oliver Stone flick.

It was just bad, plain and simple, and honestly? Pretty boring too. There was far too much violence for my taste, and the acting... well, I guess you could say it was subpar.

So, I was just sitting here tonight, doing a bit of a deep dive into some cinema. I actually just finished a double feature of two absolute classics: *Talk Radio* (1988) and *Salvador* (1985).
What can I even say?
It’s honestly hard to wrap my head around the fact that this guy ever had the talent to write a truly great screenplay.
When you sit down to watch Savages, you catch these rare flashes of genuine inspiration, but honestly, most of it feels like a caricature. It’s almost absurd. Half the time, the characters just talk and talk, and then suddenly they’re dropping inside jokes about WMDs right in the middle of these otherwise deadly serious drug deals. It makes you think he was more interested in messing around than actually making an impact. Even his style isn't as bold or expansive as his usual stuff. It really feels like over the last decade, he’s found his true calling in documentaries—especially those pieces on Castro—rather than feature films.

An ad for Budweiser popped up right in my line of sight. Honestly, it’s easily the most mediocre beer ever brewed in the States, even if their marketing machine is absolutely relentless.

Oliver, Oliver, you dark soul, what have you done? 🙂

I could smell the disaster coming from a mile away,
the second I heard that narrator—and let me tell you, calling her an actress is a stretch, she was more like a total amateur.

I mean, sure, the Stone factor... I thought maybe it was just some weird opening gag, like he was trying to be edgy or something,
but then the movie just kept dragging on and on, getting progressively more pathetic by the minute.
I honestly don't get what Stone was aiming for here. Maybe he was trying to play to the younger crowd or something? Whatever his excuse, he completely blew it.
Halfway through, I lost track of who was screwing over whom, and honestly, I was rooting for someone to just take out Lively and end the misery. The only thing keeping this from being a total dumpster fire were Del Toro and Salma Hayek; without them, this would’ve been a lock for a Golden Raspberry, though it's hovering pretty close to that line right now.

And that young male duo? Total waste of space.
Those two guys are clearly just head-over-heels in love with themselves.

5/10