[Film] A Bloody Revenge by an Ordinary Father Who Lost His Family

`Collateral Damage` in which Arnold Schwarzenegger stars will be released on the 8th to attract people during the lunar New Year`s Day holiday.

Familiar action stars usually `requisition` a domestic theater district around the lunar New Year`s Day. This year, `Eternal Terminator`, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who coined the phrase, `I`ll Be Back.` came back. The movie will have a showdown with another film, `Detox` in which Sylvester Stallone stars and which will be released on the same day. In `Collateral Damage`, an ordinary firefighter Gordy (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels to revenge himself after losing his wife and son in a bombing downtown.

The terrorist bombing scene in the opening scene of the movie inevitably reminds people of the terrorist attacks in New York City which took place on September 11th of last year. The situation is similar to the September 11th attacks, although the members of `Bin Laden`s Al-Qaeda` are replaced by an extreme right wing terrorist group in Columbia, South America, which involved in an internal war. The title, `Collateral Damage` means `innocent victim`.

Because of these scenes, the movie was postponed indefinitely in the U.S. after the attacks, although it was planned to be released in September of last year. While America started chastising Afghanistan and Bin Laden in unison in the `real situation`, in the movie, Gordy leaves for Columbia to revenge his family by himself because of a conflict between the CIA and Congress.

Gordy finally finds the murderer, `Claudio`, who had killed his wife and son going through the internal battlefields where he could not communicate with anyone after many twists and turns. Even though the to operation seems to go smoothly, entangling Claudio `s wife and adopted son, another terrorist attack and reversal is waiting in the end.

The revenge method, which gives priority to `fist` over `law`, well dressed in a plausible and just cause, is the same both in reality and in the movie. The hero, Gordy, who rages against the terrorists` logic, `Don`t mind killing for a just cause`, kills numerous Columbians (although they include both dope pushers and terrorists). Is there any difference between the two? Moreover, innocent Afghans were killed by the American attacks to chastise Bin Laden.

Unless this movie reminds you of the terrorist attacks, the movie is a large-scale action movie suitable for the lunar New Year`s Day holidays. But the movie will be restricted for rating purposes. In the movie, Gordy bites off an ear of one of the dope pushers in a fight and spits out the ear from his mouth.

Rating? Admission only for individuals over 15 years old. In America, the movie was rated R which allows only individuals over 18 years old to watch the movie.

Sue-Jean Kang sjkang@donga.com