Unfortunately, that moment of catharsis is also the last. The rest the film is bogged down in bad acting and action movie clichés. Most unforgivable of all, Arnold becomes human. Note to the director: have done with the tortured heroes, the conflicted warriors. We like our Arnold resolute, unyielding and triumphant. What we get instead is an Arnold shaken, not stirred. To see our invincible Terminator brought low by a terrorist is to receive a cinematic blow to the groin. It’s painful, it’s excruciating and it turns us completely off. Rocky may be beaten and Jackie humbled, but Arnold is superman.

But age has withered and custom staled the essence of this superman. The impact of the accent has long worn off, and has indeed entered the lexicon of pop culture as a metaphor for “tough guy.” The fabled musculature, while still incredible on a man of 54, has lost some of its vitality and much of its novelty. Bodybuilders are de rigeur on ESPN2, and Arnold’s very success in popularizing the sport has ironically decreased its uniqueness. The current roster of action stars no longer includes six-foot Aryan walls of muscle (though funny accents still abound). As James Bond, Pierce Brosnan has managed to elude age with a suaveness and wit to be found nowhere else. Jet Li can offer his lightning-quick martial arts skills to woo audiences. As for Arnold contemporaries Mel Gibson and Bruce Willis, their biggest successes of late have not been in traditional action fare. Arnold’s strength is his strength, and films like Collateral Damage haven’t done it any favors.

It is perhaps too late at this stage of the game for reinvention. Arnold is confined by the Arnold he himself constructed, plate by plate, bullet by bullet. The promise of a third Terminator and a second True Lies smacks of desperation for a hit, but it might conceivably succeed at enhancing and updating his image, keeping it relevant while maintaining the integrity of his essence.

In his most famous line, Arnold promised us he’d be back. It remains to be seen if he can make good on his word.

film

Collateral Damage

Directed By Andrew Davis

Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger

Warner Bros.