"Leave no loose ends." This is Sabotage. This action thriller film directed by David Ayer, adapted by Ayer and Skip Woods, and loosely based on the Agatha Christie novel And Then There Were None. The film centres on John Wharton, who captains an elite DEA task force, raids a safe house owned by one of the globe's most lethal drug cartels with his team. Though the mission is successful, death awaits them.
By early October 2012, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sam Worthington, Olivia Williams, Terrence Howard, Joe Manganiello, Mireille Enos, Harold Perrineau, Martin Donovan, Max Martini, and Joshua Holloway were cast. Kate Mara and Isla Fisher auditioned for the role of Lizzy. Ultimately, the role went to Malin Akerman. However, later, Akerman dropped out due to pregnancy. She was ultimately replaced with Enos. At the same time, with a budget of $35 million, principal photography commenced, and wrapped in early December. Filming took place in Los Angeles, California; New York City, New York; and Hartford, Connecticut, as well as throughout Georgia, under the working title Ten and Breacher. The film was shot on the Arri Alexa M and Arri Alexa Plus cameras in the 1.85: 1 aspect ratio. Initially, the film was set for an April 11 2014 release date. However, it was pushed back to March 28. This was due to the film being heavily cut by the studio in favour of delivering more of an action based film rather than a mystery thriller, according to Ayer. The original cut of Sabotage was rumoured to be close to three hours.
The film stars Schwarzenegger, Worthington, Williams, Howard, Manganiello, Enos, Perrineau, Donovan, Martini, and Holloway. Schwarzeneggar's DEA task force leader, John "Breacher" Wharton, may not play by the rules, but in actuality, he, along with the rest of the cast, like the film, sure does. There's plenty of empty bravura, and the cast are fundamentally blank and uninteresting.
Sabotage contains formulaic violence but no shred of intelligence. The film is just depressingly boring and sickeningly violent. Last-minute revelations emerge screaming from around the corner like squad cars you heard coming half-an-hour ago, and it all ends with a dull thud instead of a crash wallop. Long after you've stopped caring, it's finally over and out. What could have been endearingly daft remains merely forgettable. There's only the spectacle of crooked dunces slamming against each other. Everything here is predictable, from the tired plot whose revelations are deeply unsurprising to the gritty dialogue and casual everyday violence of the cops involved. There is certainly something compelling in the film's ideas, but the way they're executed suggest that any true questions about morality and the law are just grist for the action mill. Swimming in bloody violence, the film has plenty of holes, and it is way over the top. Still, as an elite team breaking apart films go, this film has got its moments, and if nothing else it certainly does entertain. You also have the sense that the filmmakers are not trying to exaggerate.
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