Savages

Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend.

I went to see Savages for 3 reasons that made me curious about it: (1) directed by Oliver Stone, (2) Salma Hayek, and (3) Benicio del Toro.  (also maybe a little bit for John Travolta and Demián Bichir) The cast was definitely well chosen to attract many different types of fans. There were, however, 2 reasons why I didn't want to see it: (1) Blake Lively has never convince me as an actress and (2) the whole polyamorous relationship thing I just don't buy. What I didn't expect was that this movie was going to start off so sexy, sexy, sexy! We watch O have sex with Ben and Chon in the first 20 minutes of the movie. (I found it interesting that as she narrates she mentioned that between the two of them, they made one man. A statement that can be quite demeaning to men)Anyways, one thinks that what will be interesting about this movie is the relationship between Chon and Ben and their girlfriend, O (for Ophelia like the bipolar woman in Shakespeare's Hamlet says "O" herself). I haven't read Shakespeare in a while, but from what I remember Savages has nothing to do with Hamlet. Just a cute fact included in the movie that adds nothing to the plot line. Anyways, the movie is titled Savages because the Americans think the Mexican cartel are savages and the Mexicans think "Ben and Chon" are savages. In the end, we learn that they are all savages... The battle is over the greatest strain of weed of all time, with the highest content of THC. In other words the mother of all weeds. (no pun intended) And O is caught in the middle. What is really interesting about the story is how the characters are presented and how Mr. Stone constructs it. O is actually quite the pothead and quite the character, a little rich kid who is used to getting what she wants and at the end has to get down and dirty to save herself. Also, Benicio del Toro as the two-timing blood-thirsty "Lado" is brilliant! He portrays his character so well that you are disgusted and horrified by him. (and must I point out that Ben and Chon are not too hard on the eyes either and deliver a respectable performance) I won't tell you how it ends, I would never spoil that. I just have to tell you that there is a twist and even though I'm not really a fan of Blake Lively and this movie is generally forgettable, Mr. Stone has delivered yet another dysfunctional stoner movie to mankind.  

Savages IMDB

Savages Official Webpage