Sabotage (2014)

 

After living legend Arnold Schwarzenegger was no longer governor and returned to cinema, things didn't always go according to plan. There were quite a lot of projects that did not have the massive impact they would have had during the 80s and 90s. Times: they do change quite a bit. Not that the man's performances were suddenly bad, in fact: often quite the opposite. But most people were still expecting the over-the-top explosionfests that he brought in his prime, while most of his roles now had a more dramatic tone.

The same goes for this little project, that apparently was also butchered somewhat by the studio, who wanted more of an action flick even if everything here points more to a thriller/detective story. In the end, it is still enjoyable, albeit flawed due to cuts and editing. 

Arnold is John 'Breacher' Warton, head of a special ops team that specializes in taking down drug cartels. They are the best at what they do, but what they do isn't pretty. However, the characters here aren't simply portrayed as badasses. They are all clearly broken and traumatised people and this sort of job is legitimately the only thing they are still any good for. Warton's family was killed by druglords, Sam Worthington is someone who doesn't have anything else except trauma, his wife is a drug addict, Terrence Howard can't sustain his exuberant lifestyle any other way and so forth. When they decide to steal 10 million dollars from their latest mission, it turns out someone knew and the money is missing. A shitstorm ensues within the department and they are all shitcanned for several months until the higher ups decide they have need of this team again. But in the meantime, a lot of cracks are showing and when the members of the team get killed one after another, there is definitely something awry in the kingdom. But who is behind all this? 

You can tell they wanted to go more detective/thriller with this one, but that someone decided it should be more action heavy, which is unfortunate as the film as a whole isn't that focused on elaborate gunfights and the like. Well, maybe a bit at the end, but that's it. There's a much better film here than what finally ended up on the screen, that's for sure. The characters are all interesting exactly because they are flawed and broken and they make no qualms showing us that this sort of job makes you just a tad unhinged. Arnold plays it all fairly low key, as he should, being the leader of this dysfunctional team. But he also has his demons.

So the acting is actually pretty decent all across the board. Maybe Mireille Enos goes a little overboard sometimes as Lizzy, but then again, in some way it stands to reason she would act a little crazy in most circumstances. Sam Worthington and Joe Manganiello are also pretty good in their respective parts. 

The thing that works most against this film, is its indecisiveness, which is all due to editing. It wants to be an action flick, but is in fact more of a psychological enterprise and the two clash rather often. This makes the end product fall too much in between to be wholeheartedly recommended as a decent film. It absolutely has its moments and you can tell there was something good in there, but except for avid Arnold-fans, this is probably something you won't truly miss.