Savages

            In the 1980’s and 90’s there were not many directors better then Oliver Stone. From “Platoon”, which he won an Oscar for Best Director (as well as one for “Born on the 4^th of July”) “Wall Street”, “JFK”, “Natural Born Killers” to “Any Given Sunday”.  Somehow the movies he has made the last ten years have gotten a little more political and his movies have lost their way a little. Not to say movies like “World Trade Center” or “W,” were not good movies, they just seemed to want to make sure you got the message he was delivering. Lucky for us though Oliver Stone has decided to show us what a great filmmaker he is once was again.

         “Savages” is just the type of story that lends its self well to the man responsible for writing “Scarface” and “Midnight Express”. Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson) have a great friendship. In fact they are greater than friends, more like brothers. With Ben’s IQ and Chon’s muscle, they have everything to run the perfect business. That business just happens to be making and selling the best weed out there. Ben and Chon share everything, including the woman they both love, O (Blake Lively). The story is told from O’s point of view and in it she professes that between Ben and Chon they form the perfect man. Business is great and it garters the attention of the cartel, who wants to partner up with Ben and Chon and learn how they do what they do. When they refuse to team up with the cartel, the cartel decides to play rough and kidnap O. The cartel underestimates Ben and Chon’s love and loyalty for O and the lengths they will go to get her back.

        Gritty film making is what Oliver Stone does best and a film like this reminds everyone that he is still one of the best directors out there. The story is pretty simple, it’s a love story, but this love story also had drugs, violence and a little sex thrown in for good measure. Taylor Kitsch helps you forget that he was in two of the biggest flops of the year and shows that those flops may not have been his fault. The supporting cast really makes this movie. John Travolta gives maybe his best performance since “Pulp Fiction” and Benico Del Toro is great as always. They also get help from Selma Hayek and Emile Hirsch, as well as others. All the pieces are there for an enjoyable movie, and “Savages” uses them all really well.  Although not on the exact same level as his classic films from early in his career, it is a big step towards that greatness that is Oliver Stone.

Brian Taylor