Published Feb. 9 of 2002 in The Kansas City Kansan newspaper, my review speaks unkindly of this Arnold Schwarzenegger flick.
By Steve Crum
It is uncanny timing, this Schwarzenegger movie.
Collateral Damage, which opened yesterday, parallels the Sept. 11, 2001 tragedy in so many ways that it is incredulous to swallow the claim that this movie was in the can PRIOR to the Twin Towers attack. But it was.
Screenwriters David and Peter Griffiths did base their tale on an actual incident—the Pan Am Flight 103 that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Their wonderment over the reactions of the victims’ relatives is embodied in Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Gordy Brewer.
Brewer is a Los Angeles firefighter who, we observe at the film’s opening, is dedicated to his dangerous job as well as his family. Shortly 
after driving downtown to pick up his wife and young son, he witnesses a bomb explode in a nearby vehicle. Among those killed are his wife and boy. Injured and hospitalized, Brewer soon yanks out his I.V. and barrels onward in revenge mode.
Things occur in rapid progression at this point: Brewer has lined the walls of his living room with giant blowups of Colombian maps…a CIA link has given him info about the head terrorist, known as El Lobo…Brewer has somehow financed (via the Fireman’s Fund?) an armed, one-man trek on foot through the Colombian jungles to find the terrorists’ compound. Brewer not only finds it in quick time, but infiltrates it, is taken prisoner, and befriend the leader’s wife and kid. Think of what he could do in the caves of Afghanistan!
I won’t spoil the fun of Brewer’s further journey through Vengeance Valley, but Arnold fans will see plenty of their hero taking on two, three and more at once, in the process lobbing and igniting an arsenal of explosives.
Incidentally, what other movie in our lifetimes can claim the hideous sequence of a man being force-fed a live, poisonous snake?
I will say this for Arnold, I should look that good when I am 54 years old. What a minute, I AM 54. And I don’t.
Director Andrew Davis has proven himself with The Fugitive that he can do great things with a good script and cast. Unfortunately, this 
effort is no Fugitive. Even his use of potentially interesting characters disappoints. Extended cameos by gifted actors John Turturro and John Leguizamo are wasted.
As for the similarities between Collateral Damage and the events of Sept. 11, just start with the fireman angle.
“I can be a hero on the screen, but the real heroes are these guys who are there every day, bravely doing their jobs.” So goes Schwarzenegger’s press released comment about firmen—post Sept. 11 words.
And speaking of firefighters, a controversy exists because of Arnold’s persona in the film. Many firemen object to his vengeful-hero depiction. The fact that Gordy Brewster’s character abandons his job, ignoring the helpful pleas of two fellow firemen, probably sparks even more complaints.
It is widely known that Collateral Damage is the high profile movie that was delayed from release for four months, fearing a backlash due to Sept. 11 public sentiment. In a somewhat cleansing way, Collateral Damage soothes the revenge we have felt as the irritating search for Bin Laden continues. That is because Arnold nabs HIS bad guy within a couple of hours.
What does Collateral Damage have to offer, entertainment-wise? This is an Arnold movie, solidly. The revenge formula has worked for him before in Commando, and he even gets to to bare his rippling pecs a couple of times. Just use brawn over brain in accepting the logical order of events in this film.
Early this week, Schwarzenegger baited the press about his desire to run for public office, possibly Governor of California. Hmm. Married to a Kennedy. A staunch Republican. And now THE timely movie hero, a terrorist-hunting firefighter.
Run that up the flag pole, and watch the salutes.
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RATING on an A-F scale: D
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