Country:
USA
Starring:
Blake Lively
Aaron Johnson
Taylor Kitsch
Benicio Del Toro
John Travolta
Demian Bichir
Salma Hayek
Emile Hirsch
Directed By:
Oliver Stone
Synopsis:
Adapted from Don Winslow's near perfect crime novel, it tells the story of Ben, Chon and O., the three friends behind the most successful marijuana growing business in California. When the Baja Cartel moves north and threaten to swallow them, Ben and Chon don't panic and refuse the initial offer. But their bravado gets O. kidnapped by the cartel's main enforcer Lado and all hell breaks loose from there.
OK, it's nearly impossible to top Don Winslow's 2010 novel. In my opinion, anyway. Following up with these characters who were so lovingly crafted and detailed and you will play the dangerous game of expectations. It's hard to argue against a movie adaptation though, because it can make a writer and if any crime writer deserves to go big time, it's Don Winslow *. Knowing how many ways a movie adaptation can go wrong, it reassured me to know Winslow and his pal Shane Salerno worked on the screenplay. But was it possible to translate the utter brilliance of SAVAGES to the silver screen? Not entirely, for sure. Unfortunately, while Oliver Stone's latest movie is not bad, per se and delivers the essentials of the novel, it leaves out most of its charm.
So, what went wrong?
A lot of people hired were just not right for the job. That's what. Oliver Stone being the first. I thought Winslow and Stone were naturals. I was wrong. I also thought the format of SAVAGES, the novel, was cinema-friendly. I was wrong too. I thought the wits of Ben, Chon and O. could translate very well fast-paced scenes a-la Guy Ritchie. Those scenes were necessary to the movie, at least a two or three or those. It makes you understand how different the three protagonists are and how much they love each other. This wouldn't have been such a glaring problem though it O. had been casted properly.
Blake Lively. Where do I start? O. is an extremely smart, ironic and bubbly O.C Girl who's very self-aware about being so. She is the spark for both Ben and Chon and Oliver Stone's O. is...not that. She's a very straightforward O.C drama queen. Having her makes Ben and Chon look like two horny assholes who fell for the first blond chick with a nice ass that dared talk to them. Blake Lively is a gorgeous looking woman, but she was not cut out for SAVAGES. I flat out think she's not talented enough. Emily de Ravin is not as good looking, but she would have been a better cast **. Benicio del Toro was a huge disappointment too. Physically, he is perfect as Lado, but he's prancing around, swinging him mullet left and right like it was very funny to him. It's not funny to anybody else, though.
I feel so bad, bitching about this movie. I wanted to like it so much. It's not all bad. Ben and Chon are absolutely pitch perfect. Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson were amazing. John Travolta and Salma Hayek did a great job too. There was much criticism about SAVAGES, saying it's a "Baditude" movie about cool-Californian-surfer-gangster-types, but it's all a part of the novel. In that regards, Oliver Stone represented the universe very well. It's a colorful nightmare. Hell in the middle of paradise. Visually speaking, I thought it could have used even more fake tits, humvees and surfers, but it's a busy movie that doesn't waste much time. There's always tension, always danger around the corner. There's a good chance that if you've never read the novel, you will think it's a decent movie. Nothing spectacular, but it's competently wrapped, makes you tense up at the right moments.
See what I did here? I spent the whole review talking about the book. It's unfair, maybe, but that's the comparison game. I just couldn't help myself. Oliver Stone's spin on SAVAGES is competent, but it's lifeless. It's flat and makes a terrific story look not-so-original. Did I mention the ending? Of course not, because it's been so universally decried by the reader of the novel, I didn't have anything to add to it. Just on a pure cinematographic, Hollywood-bullshit level, it reeked of the test-audience-didn't-like-the-original-ending factor. My only advice is to not take it personal. It wasn't make to piss anybody off, but to make a producer happy. If you haven't read Don Winslow's novel, you may find SAVAGES to be decent entertainment. But if you did read it, don't be like me and expect the world with a giggity grin on your face. It's not a bad movie, it's competent entertainment, but it doesn't do justice to the original material. At all. I am starting to think it's impossible to.
Score: 64%
Blake Lively. Where do I start? O. is an extremely smart, ironic and bubbly O.C Girl who's very self-aware about being so. She is the spark for both Ben and Chon and Oliver Stone's O. is...not that. She's a very straightforward O.C drama queen. Having her makes Ben and Chon look like two horny assholes who fell for the first blond chick with a nice ass that dared talk to them. Blake Lively is a gorgeous looking woman, but she was not cut out for SAVAGES. I flat out think she's not talented enough. Emily de Ravin is not as good looking, but she would have been a better cast **. Benicio del Toro was a huge disappointment too. Physically, he is perfect as Lado, but he's prancing around, swinging him mullet left and right like it was very funny to him. It's not funny to anybody else, though.
I feel so bad, bitching about this movie. I wanted to like it so much. It's not all bad. Ben and Chon are absolutely pitch perfect. Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson were amazing. John Travolta and Salma Hayek did a great job too. There was much criticism about SAVAGES, saying it's a "Baditude" movie about cool-Californian-surfer-gangster-types, but it's all a part of the novel. In that regards, Oliver Stone represented the universe very well. It's a colorful nightmare. Hell in the middle of paradise. Visually speaking, I thought it could have used even more fake tits, humvees and surfers, but it's a busy movie that doesn't waste much time. There's always tension, always danger around the corner. There's a good chance that if you've never read the novel, you will think it's a decent movie. Nothing spectacular, but it's competently wrapped, makes you tense up at the right moments.
See what I did here? I spent the whole review talking about the book. It's unfair, maybe, but that's the comparison game. I just couldn't help myself. Oliver Stone's spin on SAVAGES is competent, but it's lifeless. It's flat and makes a terrific story look not-so-original. Did I mention the ending? Of course not, because it's been so universally decried by the reader of the novel, I didn't have anything to add to it. Just on a pure cinematographic, Hollywood-bullshit level, it reeked of the test-audience-didn't-like-the-original-ending factor. My only advice is to not take it personal. It wasn't make to piss anybody off, but to make a producer happy. If you haven't read Don Winslow's novel, you may find SAVAGES to be decent entertainment. But if you did read it, don't be like me and expect the world with a giggity grin on your face. It's not a bad movie, it's competent entertainment, but it doesn't do justice to the original material. At all. I am starting to think it's impossible to.
Score: 64%
* There are others too, namely Tom Piccirilli and Anthony Neil Smith, but Winslow's up there.
** In all honesty, Josie came up with the idea. Not me.
** In all honesty, Josie came up with the idea. Not me.