Collateral Damage is a 2002 American action film which tells the story of a Los Angeles firefighter, Gordon Brewer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), who looks to avenge his son's and wife's deaths at the hands of a guerrilla commando, by traveling to Colombia and facing his family's killers.
Plot
The movie begins inside a burning building, where Gordon Brewer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) recues a trapped woman. Later, Gordon and his wife Anne (Lindsay Frost) agree to meet and take their son, Matt (Ethan Dampf) to the doctor.
However, Gordon is running late. His wife and son are waiting for him in a plaza near the Colombian consulate. Claudio "the Wolf" Perrini (Cliff Curtis), disguised as a police officer, pulls up to the consulate in a motorcycle. Gordon arrives, sees his family and starts across the street to them when the bomb in the motorcycle explodes. Anne and Matt are killed in the blast along with seven other officials, and Gordon is injured when he steps into the road, stunned, and is immediately hit by a car.
Later, while recovering, he sees the news footage of the explosion. He figures out that the motorcycle cop was the terrorist and informs the FBI. They bring him in for questioning, and he learns about the Wolf. He sees a video of a taped message from the terrorist organization supporting the Wolf. Gordon decides to go after the Wolf himself. He learns that the terrorists were retaliating for CIA operations within Colombia, and that one of the targets of the attack was CIA agent Peter Brandt (Elias Koteas).
After evading many guerrillas in the jungle, Gordon finally makes it to where The Wolf is staying. He is immediately targeted by the terrorists, who want to use his "celebrity victim" status to their advantage and hold him for ransom, and by the CIA and police, who do not want him to stir up anything.
The police get to him first and he is locked up in a prison. While there, he makes contact with Canadian hustler Sean Armstrong (John Turturro). The terrorists attack the prison to try to get to Gordon and free some of their members. Gordon manages to escape and rescue Sean. Sean returns the favor by giving him a pass to the guerrilla zone and hooking him up with Felix Ramirez (John Leguizamo), who manages the drug production that finances the terrorists.
After reaching the main drug plant, Gordon destroys it with explosives. Felix is blamed and he is summarily executed before a hiding Gordon's eyes.
Then, Gordon sneaks into the Wolf's headquarters. He plants a bomb near the Wolf's room and leaves. He spots a woman and a child walking towards the building and realizes if he lets them die, he will be no better than the Wolf, so he runs towards them and shouts to warn them. The Wolf hears him and jumps out of the building just as it explodes. He and his surviving men beat up Gordon, though the woman stops the terrorists from killing him. The woman, Selena Perrini (Francesca Neri), is the Wolf's wife.
Gordon is taken prisoner. He talks to Selena, trying to get her to help him. Selena explains to Gordon why her husband is a terrorist; their daughter was among many innocents killed in an American raid that supposedly targeted guerrillas, as well as the real parents of the boy they are now raising as their son. Gordon tells her that no matter the reason, what the Wolf is doing is wrong and that she should help him stop him. Selena says Gordon and the Wolf are the same, both consumed by hate and vengeance.
Meanwhile, the early explosion at the Wolf's headquarters catches the attention of the CIA. They track down the Wolf's terrorist camp and launch an attack. During the confusion, Selena helps Gordon break out, on the condition that he takes her and her son with him to the United States. She says the Wolf has gone back to Washington for another attack.
Gordon, Selena, and her son are taken back to the State Department in Washington to help the search effort for the Wolf. Selena names Union Station as the target, and the FBI goes to investigate. Selena excuses herself to go to the bathroom. She tells her son to go with her. When he refuses, she becomes very irritated and angry. Gordon assures her that her son would be fine in the command room, and she reluctantly agrees. Gordon is suspicious. He then remembers the original terrorist video sent after the first bombing. He realizes that the person in the video makes the same gesture and said the same words that Selena made while talking to her son. He realizes that she was working with the Wolf all along, and that the real target was the State Department. He warns everyone to leave, and throws the son's toy dinosaur out of a window just as it explodes, realizing it was never checked by the metal detectors upon entry. Brandt gets killed by Selena after trying to stop her escape.
Gordon chases Selena down to the basement of the building. The Wolf is waiting for her and they ride away in the underground tunnels beneath the building. Gordon finds the tunnel control console and shuts the gates leading out of the tunnels. The Wolf and Selena have to go back to the controls to open them. Gordon breaks open some gas lines along the walls of the tunnel and waits. As they ride back, Selena shoots at Gordon. Her gun ignites the gas. Gordon jumps through a doorway just as the entire tunnel explodes. When he goes back to survey the damage, Selena and the Wolf attack him - they had survived the explosion. He throws Selena through a control panel and she is electrocuted. Enraged, the Wolf viciously beats Gordon, and pulls out a cellphone to activate a car bomb and cause further destruction. Gordon throws a fire fighter's axe at the terrorist, which hits him in his chest, killing him.
At the end, Gordon holds Selena's son as they leave the State Department with a voiceover of a newscaster explaining that Gordon will receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his actions.
Release
The September 11, 2001 attacks affected the release and editing of the final film. The film was originally scheduled to be released on October 5, 2001, but it was postponed due to its terrorism theme and eventually released on February 8, 2002. The premiere was held on February 4, 2002. The film also was supposed to include Colombian actress Sofía Vergara in the role of an airplane hijacker; however the scene where Vergara would hijack a plane was cut from the movie.
Reception
External links
