Review of Sabotage

Sabotage (2014)
Gaming Goes to The Movies!
24 March 2015
This film is the logical output of a team brought up on Grand Theft Auto and Ghost Recon, to mention just two . The stylised action sequences are punctuated by poorly scripted 'cartoon' characters in 'cut scenes' and strung together by a wafer thin nonsensical plot so full of holes someone could get hurt. The level and frequency of bad language and general offence is totally unnecessary, it doesn't abate throughout the movie and has obviously been ramped up to create a degree of edginess to proceedings. It just becomes an embarrassment for the notable actors.

The writers constantly remind us of their lack of subject matter knowledge, from the outset they confuse the roles of DEA SWAT with DEA Agents (think Navy Seals vs FBI). These are two mutually exclusive types of policing that have been unrealistically crashed together to create the premise. Anyway, as such the team seem to go about their business in a sort of pseudo 'Sons of Anarchy' world between a scuzzi group hut and the local DEA office.

The cinematography (in the broadest sense of the term) cannot seem to create the visual parameters or syntax to allow the viewer to understand what is happening within a scene's environment. Therefore, a snazzy mansion party full of horrible dial-in non-American types, depicted at the opening to the movie, is strangely forgotten when our SWAT team go through the err....front doors and appear to go straight to into the err....basement and find the $2bn crime stash cunningly hidden under a err.....tarp, beautifully illuminated in the middle of a room. All the while, the Russian/Middle Eastern cheese and wine event in the house seems to be largely unaffected.

The dealer and owner of the mansion must have been very honest and exact in his last tax return as the DEA seem to know that $10m (0.5% of the $2bn) has gone missing, even after the team incinerate the huge pile of cash in order to cover up their actions. Arnie, the head of team, doesn't get in trouble for destroying the $2bn (IRS must have been delighted) but for the missing $10m.

The rest of the movie follows an incredibly well trodden double cross / team death format and barely warrants a summary. If you can make it past the pole dancing level, sorry, scene then you have done well.

There must be some 14 year old boys pretty worried about their Hollywood careers after this effort.
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