Savages Directed by: Oliver Stone Starring: Taylor Kitsch, Aaron Johnson, Blake Lively Rating: Not Yet Rated Release Date: July 6, 2012
TRAILER SCORE: 8/10
Thoughts by TSR: Welcome back, crazy Oliver Stone! While I like World Trade Center quite a bit (and found both W. and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps to have just enough admirable qualities to be tolerable), seeing Stone return to the unhinged style of Natural Born Killers is fantastic. I’ve been curious about Savages because of the names involved, but actually seeing what Stone has in store for us has turned this into a film I’m really excited to see.
It’s not all perfect – Blake Lively rasping “Just because I’m telling you this story doesn’t mean I’m alive at the end of it” in the opening voice over is cringe worthy – but once that finishes the pulpy genre madness kicks into high gear. The action and general sleaziness could be too much if Stone hadn’t assembled such an interesting and talented cast. I’m a big fan of Taylor Kitsch, and I thought Lively was great in The Town. Throw in an almost unrecognizable Aaron Johnson and the primary trio works well enough for me. But it’s the colorful supporting cast that most excites me. Benicio del Toro and Salma Hayek look to be reveling in their characters, while John Travolta appears to be having fun as a DEA agent. Travolta hasn’t done anything interesting of late, so this could be a nice return to form for him.
Everything in this trailer pops off the screen. Between the vibrant colors, the over the top action, Kitsch and Johnson’s lucha libre masks, and del Toro’s mustache, these two and a half minutes leave quite an impression.