Reviewed by Jami Ferguson
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in the pulse-pounding action film Sabotage, from the director of End of Watch and the writer of Training Day. When DEA task force leader Breacher Wharton (Schwarzenegger) storms a heavily armed cartel safe house, rogue members of his team use it as a cover to steal $10 million in cash. But just when they think their secret is safe, agents are killed off one-by-one, and everyone is a suspect, including the squad itself. Co-starring Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Josh Holloway and Mireille Enos, Sabotage is an explosive tale of betrayal and trust.
John “Breacher” Wharton (Arnold Schwarzenegger) leads a team of DEA agents who all have colorful personalities and nicknames. His team is made up of “Grinder” (Joe Manganiello), “Neck” (Josh Holloway), “Monster” (Sam Worthington) and wife Lizzy (Mireille Enos), “Sugar” (Terrence Howard), “Tripod” (Kevin Vance), “Pyro” (Max Martini) and “Smoke” (Mark Schlegel). Breacher’s family was tortured and murdered by drug lords, yet he continues the job.
Lizzy is undercover as the team raids a drug house full of cash. Before setting off an explosive, they steal $10,000,000 for their efforts. They lose a man in a firefight before heading to the sewer to retrieve the stolen money. The money is gone but Breacher and his team are soon under investigation. The team waits as Breacher does a desk job until they have a resolution. Although not exonerated, the team gets back to work.
Members of Breacher’s team start to die. The first death briefly appears accidental when a motor-home and its occupant are destroyed by an oncoming train. Investigator Caroline Brentwood (Olivia Williams) starts putting together the pieces and wants to know what Breacher and his agents have been up to. Subsequent deaths are obviously murder and the team is trying to solve the mystery while staying alive. They don’t know who took the money but it’s clear that the theft and the deaths are connected.
The latest Arnold Schwarzenegger action film released on Blu- ray on July 22nd. I’ve skipped many of Arnold’s recent films because they all appeared very similar and frankly, I’m just not a big fan. Sabotage caught my attention with one very important element, True Blood’s Joe Manganiello. Even a bad movie is still pretty good with Joe Manganiello anywhere in the film.
Sabotage had more of a story than I expected. It’s not about the good guys taking out the bad guys. It’s not even clear who belongs on which side. Arnold Schwarzenegger didn’t bother me as much as I predicted he would, but Olivia Williams bothered me more. She was the wrong choice for that part but it was easy to overlook. I was watching the movie for Joe Manganiello and was thrilled to see Lost’s Josh Holloway in the mix as well. Every member of the DEA team truly inhabited their character as the personality of the actor diminished completely. Sabotage is a bit more story driven than you’d expect and also contains a bit more gore than the usual action flick.
Video (4 1/2 out of 5 stars)
Sabotage features a 1080p transfer that offers sharp detail. Skin textures are accurate and texture in clothing and even housing is apparent. The film looks good in the dark sewer and in the bright daylight. Sabotage on Blu-ray offers a good enough video presentation to make it worth skipping the theatrical release, opting to spend your money on the Blu-ray (if you could only choose one).
Sabotage’s DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is also pretty good. There is plenty of gunfire and a few explosives to rock your living room but the action isn’t overwhelming. Bullets do whiz by from side speaker to side speaker and dialogue is even, consistent and front centered.
Sabotage contains the very basics in terms of special features, most notably lacking commentary. The following are found on the Blu-ray:
- Alternate Endings – Two alternate ending possibilities.
- Deleted Scenes – Eight deleted scenes ranging from 35 seconds to over 7 minutes.
- Making Sabotage – A behind the scenes look at cast and crew, locations and the story.
- Previews
- Ultraviolet Copy
Classic Arnold Schwarzenegger movies like The Terminator or Predator would probably serve you better if you want to see Arnold shoot a lot of stuff. This is not a film I think will ever be one of the classics. It was, however, more enjoyable than I’d predicted. It doesn’t take long to figure out exactly where the story is going. The acting is good overall and its worth looking into if you are bored with your current action collection. With a strong audio and video presentation, I recommend the Blu-ray which includes DVD and Ultraviolet digital copy.
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