It's basically the story of Romeo and Juliet...and Romeo...kinda. Just replace the feuding Capulets and Montagues with warring drug cartels and swap out some well-mannered sword-fighting with some decapitations and other bodily dismemberment. Okay...so it's not really much like Romeo and Juliet after all...well, kinda, but you'll see what I mean. What it is, is a good story that even the Nolan's of the movie universe can respect with the violence that would get a nod of approval from the Tarantino's.
Meet Chon (Taylor Kitsch). He's recently returned from military duty in the Middle East and it shows. Actually, Chon takes PTSD to new heights. He has a very explosive violent side. Next, meet Ben (Aaron Johnson). He's a complex guy. Calm. Gentle. Intelligent. Ben keeps Chon's wild violent side in check. So, does O--she's his girlfriend.(Blake Lively)
"Who's girlfriend? Chon's or Ben's?" You ask.
"Yes."
"Uhh???" You respond. Yes, is again the answer. So, before this turns into a "Who's on First?" skit, you should understand that O has formed a mutually accepted love triangle with Ben and Chon and everyone is quite happy thank you very much. Well, everyone with the possible exception of a very angrily greedy Mexican drug cartel. Of course, this has nothing to do with the unique relationship of Ben, Chon and O. Actually, it has everything to do with the fact that Ben and Chon are refusing to merge their pot business with that of the competition. Ohh...did I forget to mention that Ben and Chon have one of the most successful drug rings in Southern Cali???
At any rate, their refusal to join forces with their Mexican neighbors, prompts the latter to strike them in their crotches. That's right. They kidnap O, holding her for ransom. They'll get her back, if the merger is accepted with the terms revised somewhat. Yadayadayada Chon pulls out all the stops in Operation: Rescue O, while Ben adopts to his new violent side to bring back his love.
It's good. I'll go with 4.0 Stars on this one. Keep in mind, I'm not someone who has the remotest appreciation for violence and baby...there is blood, guts and dangling flesh-a-plenty in this one. Even so, there is such a strong plot in this movie and such interesting characters, I'm able to look past (actually, close my eyes) to all of the rolling heads. Of course, you would not expect a flick entitled Savages to be filled with more picnic baskets than pistols. With that in mind, I was quite prepared for a high level of violence which was certainly key to the plot.
There are a lot of elements that make this story interesting. First, the interesting relationship among the three main characters. With that unique triad, of course there's a natural homoerotic undertone that is present and suggested, yet unexplored. Second, the two cartels are diametrically opposed. One is focused on good product within an eco-friendly and humanitarian mindset. This is all thanks to Ben's botanical genius. On the other side of the ledger, you've got the standard fare violent approach presented by the Mexican cartel. Within both are fascinating characters. The Mexican cartel is a family business and old school from top to bottom. Savage brutality reigns and that is evident within all characters.
With Savages you've got a winning combination of a great plot with interesting characters played very well by solid acting performances. For example, I've been a big Aaron Johnson fan for awhile and he didn't disappoint in this one. This is a talented guy with solid range. He can believably play a wannabe but nerdy super hero in one flick (Kick-Ass) and then play a super-cool, gentle genius here, with a well-played portrayal of John Lennon in Nowhere Boy in between. In Savages, his character grows in ways that he doesn't want to--we experience that reluctance with Ben in very real ways. There's authenticity here and that's really just the tip of the iceberg with this one.
Yeah--the ending will tick some people off. No spoiler alert needed...I won't reveal specifics, but it really didn't bother me. It didn't detract from my experience, so I had no problem rolling with it. You should too. This is a flick that is high on sex, drugs and violence, so if those are things you can't really deal with for a 131 minutes, skip it. But if you can hang through that, you are in for a entertaining movie that you really need to see BIG!
True...OUT!
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