By EWAN McDONALD
(Herald rating: * * * )
They don't make movies like this any more. They don't make movies like this because they used to be considered harmless escapist entertainment, but for 12 months and two weeks Hollywood has been convinced they are training manuals for every nutcase who wants
to have a go at the ol' US of A.
To be fair to Arnold Schwar-zenegger, this film was all but in the can before September 11, 2001. When those events occurred, it was withdrawn from release for several months. There are those who believe that the world might not have been materially affected had it been withheld permanently, but hey ...
Brewer (Schwarzenegger) is an LA firefighter who sees his wife and son killed by a terrorist bomb. To take revenge on the guerrillas involved, he flies to Colombia, escapes several attempts on his life, makes a bold and daring trip down a waterfall that you shouldn't try at home, gets inside the guerrilla base and kills a lot of people. This makes him the good guy.
The bad guys are Colombian drug traffickers. There's one guy who's a bit of both, a US Government agent (Elias Koteas), who might be playing one side off against the other, or might be a good guy in the middle of a tricky situation, but neither stance matters when Arnie gets his Irish up. Okay, gets his Austrian up.
The reason that it was held back from the multiplexes for several months is that it all builds up to a Dramatic Ending involving the terrorists planning to destroy a Washington skyscraper, which was not what people wanted to see when they went for a night at the movies late last year.
It's just Arnie having a bit of harmless, shoot-'em-up fun, which he's done to earn a crust and entertain people for 20 years, and they've loved him for it. If you're one of them, this is for you.
Rental video, DVD: Today
• DVD features: movie (109min); commentary, Schwarzenegger and director Andrew Davis; interviews with Schwarzenegger, Davis and producers; HBO behind-the-scenes feature; additional scenes.
