• Plot
• Music
• Cast
• Plot Progression
• Length

Once you board this wild ride, there is no escape. Immediately grabbing your attention with some decapitations, we are given a taste of what is to come. With Blake Lively narrating, she takes us through the tale of her boys’, Ben (Aaron Johnson) & Chon (Taylor Kitsch), heroic dance with a Mexican drug cartel. In this dirty business there are no rules, and nothing people won’t do for money. Our boys have a growing business and they’ve got some interested investors. While they don’t want to participate, they will sell them what they have and get out while they can. These particular investors don’t take no for an answer and kidnap the one thing the two guys care about, Ophelia (Blake Lively). We see them go to great lengths to get her back alive and it’s a surprise around every turn.

The Good

Plot

Based off Don Winslow’s novel of the same title, this film follows the life of Ben and Chon, two pot growers who specialize in the best of the best. Their leading lady, Ophelia, is the one person they love more than each other. This twisted tale bends the boys in ways that they didn’t see possible. They must adapt and change to their increasingly more violent lifestyle. Ben, the calm and zen one doesn’t believe in violence and his counterpart Chon is quite the opposite — a war vet, he can handle any stressful situation. Gripping and exciting, I was on the edge of my seat watching their struggle on screen. Making me jump more than once, I was enthralled throughout the whole thing. Today I ordered the book online so I can checkout how closely they kept to the novel.

The Music

Adam Peters puts together the music, which was a mix of covers and original songs. Staying peacefully in the background, the tracks made its presence known, but I still found myself often saying how much I liked the song that was playing. Pairing perfectly with the action scenes there were remixes of songs that kept the energy level high and also set the mood when things were getting a little steamy, which let’s say, happens more than enough times. Peters captured the essence and tempo of this flick, and really peaked my interest. Here’s one of my favorite songs from the soundtrack.

The Cast

Taylor Kitsch (Chon), most well known for his bad boy role in Friday Night Lights, plays one of our main guys. As an Iraqi war vet he doesn’t think twice about bringing pain upon his enemies and will do anything to protect Ben, “O” (Ophelia), and his business. Aaron Johnson is Ben, our buddhist botanist, who feels everything can be worked out peacefully and will avoid a fight if possible. His beautiful self doesn’t have to work hard to make us believe and the obvious chemistry between the three of them is outstanding. Blake Lively, our narrator and the love interest of both Chon and Ben, plays Ophelia, or “O” as everyone calls her. She is a cool stoner girl who can hang with the boys, and proves she can be more than just a Gossip Girl. With her kidnapping her limits are tested and we see a different, darker side of this blondie. With John Travolta, Benicio Del Toro, and Salma Hayek on the cast list they couldn’t go wrong.

The Bad

Plot Progression

Without giving anything away, there were some parts that could’ve been excluded, or at least shortened. Not that I’m complaining, but there was a good amount of time spent on sex scenes that I feel weren’t quite important to the storyline. Clocking in at two hours and fifteen minutes long, it might be too long. While I was glued to the screen almost the whole time, I found myself getting a little antsy at the end. It was lagging towards the middle, but luckily the guys are hot enough that I was distracted by that most of the time (haha). With plenty of fight scenes and violence I’m sure the men watching this won’t be disappointed. Just plan to be sitting there for a while.

Length

I said it before, but it was just a bit long; 15-20 minutes shorter would have been prime, and they absolutely could’ve done it. Although, I was very pleased with the ending, I won’t spoil anything! It was agreed within my friends that went with, that it was just too long. We didn’t leave completely unhappy, just a little tired.

This fantastic glimpse into the dangerous drug world took a different approach than the usual junkie perspective. Seeing normal dudes involved with something that seems so out of their league is interesting and inventive. I haven’t seen a movie like this one before and I applaud Oliver Stone for picking up such a great story written by such a great author.

Overall Rating: 4 stars out of 5

I would definitely encourage you to see this summer blockbuster, and take a long cool sit in the theater during this hot summer. I’ll leave you with the trailer, if you haven’t checked it out already.

‘Savages’ Movie Trailer