Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.
A cross between Traffic, Blow and a massacre, it is a pulpy, putrid, purposeless collage of drug cliches.
Savages is punishing in places, but there are enough colourful characters and careening twists to make it worth the effort.
Overall, [it] fails to realise its potential.
If Stone wanted to make even Tony Scott’s lousiest movies look like masterworks, he’s gone about it brilliantly.
At two hours and 11 minutes, the picture has ballooned beyond control and there is no dramatic point or weight to any of it. There is savagery in being as boring as this.
Bloody, and occasionally fun, but dumber than a box of rocks.
What could have been an effective excoriation of US drug policy and a proper look at the violence inherent in the trade is wasted on a simplistic thriller that offers very little, especially given who is behind the camera. Sorry if that harshes anyone’s buzz.
The violence is both horrific and gloating, as if the film-makers have recently discovered a love of torture porn.
Waste of a good cast.
Savages is not great but it does offer a lurid, over-the-top slice of B-movie mayhem that keeps you watching.
Unfortunately, it seems that Stone was smoking too much of his characters' own product, because his bloated film drags on and on without a scintilla of urgency.
An unpleasantly amoral tale involving unsympathetic characters, it has its taco and eats it by offering two different endings.
Oliver Stone tackles the drugs war in America's backyard
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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