Drug war wild: Oliver Stone back in bold form with ‘Savages’ - Entertainment, Movies - Navy Times

Drug war wild: Oliver Stone back in bold form with ‘Savages’

The sun plays an important role in Oliver Stone’s latest, “Savages.” In the beginning of this tale of sex, drugs, money and power, it illuminates an idyllic decadence. It warms everything in a glow that suggests anything is possible. But such a lifestyle can’t be maintained forever.

And so eventually, especially in the film’s bloody climax, the sun bakes everyone mercilessly, bleaching away the colors and revealing the characters’ true natures.

Regardless of which side of the battle they’re on, it’s clear they’ve all become savages.

Sounds intense, and Stone’s film is indeed a lurid, pulpy film noir but with an erotic, even dreamlike California beach vibe. It’s an intriguing mixture, and the result is the most explosively poppy film Stone has made in a long time.

“Savages” is darkly funny and stylishly violent but never reaches the overwhelming level of audio-visual assault of, say, “Natural Born Killers.” Directing from a script he co-wrote with Shane Salerno and Don Winslow, Stone draws us into this glamorous-yet-seedy world and coaxes strong performances from his eclectic ensemble cast.

Taylor Kitsch and Aaron Johnson co-star as best friends and business partners Chon and Ben, young surfer-dudes who got rich quick growing a particularly strong strain of pot. Chon, an ex-Navy SEAL, came home after fighting in Afghanistan with the potent seeds and, understandably, some residual jumpiness from the war. Ben, who studied botany at Berkeley, turned those seeds into a small, independent empire, but he’s a pacifist with philanthropic goals.

The two live in a spectacular Laguna Beach home with endless views of the Pacific Ocean. They also happily share the affections of their mutual girlfriend, the gorgeous, blonde O (Blake Lively), a nouveau riche Orange County princess who benefits from this arrangement in every possible way.

Everyone’s happy until the leader of a Mexican cartel, the regal but ruthless Elena (a fantastic, scenery-chewing Salma Hayek) tries to expand her territory by taking over their business. First, she sends her trusted right-hand man (an elegant Demian Bichir) to approach them with a gentlemanly (if well-armed) proposition. When they politely decline, with phrasing that will come back to haunt them, she sends one of her heavies (Benicio Del Toro, amusingly cartoony) to make her point a little more clear.

As our guide through this shadowy world, Lively is saddled with delivering the film’s sometimes-smothering narration; some lines that perhaps read better on paper clang on the ear.

Stone clearly has a pro-drug message — or at least an anti-war-on-drugs message, but he doesn’t beat us over the head with it. “Savages” is an enjoyably gratuitous romp, but with something to say.