Sabotage

Seven of us watched a matinee showing today of this latest offering from aging and aged action star, Arnold Schwarzenegger.  Three guys spread around the place as if afraid to be near each other; I was one of them.  Two male-female couples held down the edges of different upper rows.  Both women looked pissed to be there. 

I couldn't blame them.  With only a 21% critical rating on Rottentomatoes and a 39 on metacritic, the film was definitely a risk.  At the same time, the audience ratings on those services were 50 and 6.5, respectively, so the odds were good that if you liked this sort of movie, you'd probably have fun watching it. 

Predictably, I enjoyed myself.  Arnold delivered what is for him a nuanced performance, which is to say that in addition to grimacing and squinting, occasionally other parts of his face moved, mostly as if he meant them to.  Most of the supporting cast didn't have a ton to work with, but they did well with the material available.  Mireille Enos chewed the scenery in a role made for doing just that, but she did it so well that now I'm a fan and can't wait to see what she does next.

I've read multiple reviews that referred to odd plot twists, but I have to disagree with all of them.  The plot was straightforward from start to finish, always driven by Arnold's character and the personalities of his team.  So, I found it reasonably satisfying and had no issues with it.

If you like this sort of film, you'll probably have a good time at Sabotage.