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Los Angeles firefighter Gordy Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) who has been helping people all his
life, sees his wife and son killed in a terrorist bomb attack. Immediately, Claudio "The Wolf" (Cliff Curtis), the leader of Columbian rebels, claims responsibility. Consumed
with grief and frustrated by the snail-paced investigation, Brewer flies to Columbia to hunt down Claudio. He survives attempts on his life and destroys guerilla installations
but "The Wolf" escapes death. Claudio flies to the U.S. to blow up an American landmark. Winning the sympathy of Claudio's wife Selena (Fancesca Neri), Brewer convinces her to
fly to Washington with him to help identify the terrorists' targets. Can Selena be trusted? Will Brewer succeed in preventing a national tragedy? Will he obtain justice for
his wife and son?
This picture is vintage Schwarzenegger. Although the film revisits the unnerving emotional
climate of the September 11 attacks, his legions of fans can sit through the movie with pleasure because, as usual, he vanquishes the villains with his distinctive fighting
prowess and a dash of superman power. How else can a man survive a fall into such towering South American waterfalls as shown? The film is skillfully crafted and well
directed; its seamless fighting sequences are highlighted by awesome visuals and sound effects. The beautiful photography of the Columbian virgin forests and angry rivers as
well as the realistic shots of the veritable inferno at the beginning deserve mention. Because of the World Trade Center tragedy, perhaps some moviegoers may no longer
consider a film like this as mere entertainment.
The movie offers some food for thought. Here is an uncomplicated ordinary citizen living peacefully, devoted
to his family, content with his life, and all of a sudden, his world is shattered. Pseudo freedom fighters call his murdered wife and son "collateral damage"; they are the
innocent victims or inevitable costs of the struggle. No one is to take the law into his own hands, but if the government is inefficient or corrupt that it cannot effectively
go after the culprits, the aggrieved asks, "How can justice be served?" How do we respond to this cry? Is there an alternative for revenge to assuage the injustice suffered by
innocent victims? The film mirrors so much of the deep anger, obsessive revenge, brutality, merciless killing and treachery in our midst today. Probably we should seriously
ask ourselves how we can make this a safer world. How do we begin so the seeds of hate are not sown? Can we begin with ourselves?
(Date reviewed: February 15, 2002)
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