Savages: Blu Ray Review

Savages: Blu Ray Review

Rating: R18
Released by Universal Home Entertainment

Oliver Stone returns with this lurid tale of drugs deals, cartels and rivalries.

In this pulpy, trashy and violent film, Taylor Kitsch stars as Chon, who's best friends with Aaron Johnson's Ben. The pair have been tight for years and live it up on Laguna Beach thanks mainly to a business growing and selling dope. But not only do they live the high life, they share a girlfriend O (played by Blake Lively in post Gossip Girl career mode) who they both care about. 

However, when the trio receive a video showing decapitations at the hands of a drugs cartel in Mexico, they're set on a collision course with the cartel, its enforcer Lado (Benicio del Toro) and its shadowy head honcho.

Savages is your typical Oliver Stone film; it's stylish, ultra violent, sexy and trashy but a wee bit shallow in terms of any emotional connection.

The menage a trois mix with drugs and kidnapping works well as a story device and idea complete with Stone's use of heightened colour behind the lens but it's definitely hard to get behind any of the main three as they face obstacle after obstacle, given how distanced and aloof they can be.

Savages is really a frustrating time; it's good to see Stone back in some kind of form and while the ending's certainly going to irritate some, it's perhaps worth taking a punt on Savages but only for some of the central performances.

Extras: An extended cut, deleted scenes, audio commentary and a nice 5 part making of are a solid if unspectacular bunch

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