Savages is a Solid All Around Action Film

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Make sure to check out the trailer for Oliver Stone’s Savages.

Intense, brutal, graphic, and sexy are just some of the words that could be used to describe Oliver Stone’s Savages. Stone’s latest film is about two drug dealers, Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson), who share the same girl (yes the same girl), O (Blake Lively). Besides being a messed up love story, Savages has some great and graphic scenes that will have your heart pulsing from start to finish. Complimented by an excellent cast, this film will satisfy all action junkies.

Savages starts by O’s voice narrating from the present about how she got to where she is today, but you don’t know if she is dead or alive. She introduces Chon as a troubled war veteran who uses O as a way to get rid of the war. He is the guy who is, simply put, the muscle behind the operation. It is easy to see how he feels by the way he handles most situations and his relationships. Ben returns from his charity in Africa, and it is easy see to how much more of a lover he is compared to Chon. O says it perfectly, she says that Ben takes 99% of the violence out of the business and the other 1% is what Chon handles.

Basically, what happens from here is the Cartel comes up and wants to use Ben and Chon’s growing methods to better themselves. They turn the Cartel down and obviously they don’t take it well. O gets kidnapped and Ben and Chon do whatever it takes to get her back. In the process, Savages becomes a great action film filled with suspense and graphic violence. Some of the scenes will make you cover your eyes and will surely raise your heart rate.

Stone put together a great movie. There are some really nice black and white shots that were visibly appealing. The fact that the audience doesn’t know if O is actually alive by the ending, makes Savages even more suspenseful. This wasn’t a completely original idea, but it does its job by keeping you on edge. It was hard to really pinpoint the next move in the film which really added to the success of it.

Besides an interesting story and some excellent action scenes, the cast was awesome too. There was nothing to complain about with any of the people casted for their roles. Lado (Benicio Del Toro) was played perfectly and it really felt like he was an unpredictable, insane type of guy. Dennis (John Travolta) was another perfect cast for a federal agent. The Cartel boss, Elena (Salema Hayek) was a great struggling drug lord with tons of personal problems and watching the film was like watching the downfall of her.

Overall, Stone was right on point with Savages. It has enough new stuff to make it something to see. The relationship between O, Chon, and Ben was a great twist to the film that setup the rest of it perfectly. The action scenes were fast paced, gruesome, and just plain cool. To add to everything else, the great cast brought so much to the table that at times you may forget you are watching a movie. If there was one down fall to this film it would be the ending. The direction Stone went with it was a little strange but not enough to leave a sour taste in your mouth. Hollywood Apples is picking Savages and highly recommends it to anyone of proper age. This film contains graphic violence and nudity so this isn’t something to bring your children to. If you love action flicks, definitely give Savages a look.