Collateral Damage (2002)

Elevator Pitch: Fire chief Gordy Brewer is devastated when his wife and son are killed in a Colombian terrorist bomb attack in Los Angeles and, finding that the terrorist who carried out the operation has returned to Colombia, follows him there and manages, after some adventures, to infiltrate his camp where he forms a relationship with the terrorist’s wife and son. They survive a CIA helicopter attack on the camp, and return to America where the wife assists the FBI to identify the terrorist, who apparently is going to plant another bomb. But is she really on their side?

Content: Therer is no sex, nudity, drinking or smoking but much of the film takes place in a jungle drug factory. The firemen rescue people from a fire. We see Gordy with his family and he sees them killed in the explosion. He sets off for Colombia, treks through the jungle and travels on a river. He is jailed, escapes and gets into the jungle drug factory. The CIA attack takes place and he survives, rescuing the terriorist leader’s wife and son. Back in America we discover the truth about everything.

A View:  I an a bit of an Arnie fan, but this was a dire outing. As a loving father of a young family he is completely out of his comfort zone, to the point that it was a relief when the plot required them to be dispatched, and he could get back to flexing his muscles, and, what do you know, treking through the jungle, and using his firefighter’s skills to survive and get the bad guys. It was generally disliked by the critics, except for Roger Ebert who seemed to see the best of everything. There are lots of Arnie films about, so why not choose another. This one really not worth your time.

Additional Info: The content, publicity and distribution of this film was affected by 9/11.  They might have been better off just to have cut their losses.