Savage (2018) User Reviews

Blind-sided in the blizzard

[kluseba · 7/10 · 12 January 2020]

Savage is a gritty Chinese action-thriller set in magnificent North-Eastern winter landscapes. A group of three criminals steals a gold transport and encounters two police officers on their way from the mountain. One of these officers gets fatally shot and the criminals must escape in a hurry as they leave the bounty behind. One year later, the surviving police officer is still haunted by the past and refuses to commit to a relationship with a local doctor who was desired both by his deceased partner and himself. The grim lone wolf discovers two poachers and tries to warn them of an incoming extreme blizzard. To his own surprise, the two poachers aren't trying to hunt animals but are actually two of the three criminals who hid the gold in a valley one year earlier. The third criminal and head of the group isn't too far away either. To make matters even more complicated, the local doctor comes out to the mountain to bid farewell to the police officer since she is going to be transferred to Beijing. The protagonist now has to face off against three ruthless criminals, protect the unsuspecting doctor and survive the harsh blizzard.

This gripping action-thriller convinces for numerous reasons. First and foremost, the winter landscapes are absolutely breathtaking and worth watching the film alone. Secondly, the lead characters are truly intriguing and especially the grim police officer and the charming doctor are easy to empathize with. The movie convinces with a constant gloomy atmosphere from start to finish. The action scenes are authentic and intense. The scenes in an isolated camp are inspired by The Hateful Eight and anyone who likes the Quentin Tarantino movie is also going to appreciate this film.

The film has a few minor flaws that keep it from being more than just good. The story is overall flat and predictable. The film has a few lengths in the middle section and loses some momentum here. The characters of the villains could have been a little bit more fleshed out as they remain rather formulaic.

Still, Savage is an entertaining movie for anyone who likes thrillers taking place in snowy landscapes such as Cold Pursuit. The movie might not be the most creative of its kind but takes its inspiration from genre classics and contemporary highlights. The sinister atmosphere, intriguing lead characters and stunning locations are among the film's greatest strengths. It's also noteworthy that this Chinese film avoids the usual propaganda that waters almost any other production down and focuses on the basics instead. I would certainly recommend this film to my friends and also watch it again.

Score seems fair. Looks great. Forgettable plot

[rhett-p · 6/10 · 14 February 2021]

While this is one of the better Chinese produced movies I've watched recently (not saying much really), with a terrific setting, cinematography and colour grading, and an effectively atmospheric soundtrack, I can't rate it higher given the ultimately forgettable revenge plot and cardboard-thin characterisations. Not terrible though and certainly at least watchable.

Chilling

[sme3 · 5/10 · 4 May 2019]

"When the blizzard's over, no one is going to remember any of this." Words to this effect are stated by several characters in the film, and it also summarizes the film quite well. This is a serviceable thriller about a competition to retrieve a stolen shipment of gold before a blizzard hits. The scenery and looming blizzard are the best - or at least most distinctive - parts of the film. The computer-generated imagery perhaps is the weakest part of the film.

A one-off watch

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 18 June 2021]

A mainland Chinese action thriller with a snowbound setting in the northeast of the country. The hero is a cop who lost his partner thanks to the machinations of a gang of gold robbers performing a heist up in the snowy wilds. He eventually catches up with them again and a cat and mouse game plays out. This film suffers from choppy editing which makes understanding difficult at times, and a certain contrivance in having characters always showing up at the right place at the right time. On the other hand, it has a fast pace and plenty of action to see it through, even if what transpires is quite familiar. I enjoyed it as a one-off watch.

Not as good as I hoped

[gurumaggie · 2/10 · 29 May 2021]

A good start with a heist going wrong and a dead cop, stunning scenery a tepid love triangle and blood and guns.

But the ending is weak and not well explained, how did the last two people survive? Did Wang go to Beijing? A waste of time tbh.

Quite forgettable

[sorozataddikt · 5/10 · 6 October 2019]

Not a bad effort and some interesting direction choices but all I could think of was the director trying to copy Tarantino but the characters are making completely illogical choices to move the plot forward.

Poor man's Chinese Cliffhanger

[searchanddestroy-1 · 4/10 · 19 February 2022]

Very very poor, I would say vagrant's CLIFFHANGER, I mean. It is so obviously Hollywood copied, but it remains watchable and bearable. Not many surprises and a deception for those who hope that the Asian film industry can be totally cut from the American inspiration. I highly prefer a gloomyand also brutal crime film from China too, as LE LAC AUX OIES SAUVAGES (2019) was. You can live without seeing this one, SAVAGE, no problem.

Bleak, gritty n heavily inspired by The Great Silence n other westerns but in a solid way.

[Fella_shibby · 8/10 · 27 November 2019]

On an unforgiving, snow-swept conditions, with the snow particles blowing in an icy blast, in an extremely harsh blizzard, with long blowing gusts, a policeman must brave the extreme weather n a trio of thieves connected with his tragic past. Both sides must fight for survival, the thieves for the gold n our cop for the honour. The film is bleak n gritty. It has powerful vistas, outstanding visual effects n brutal action. The gun showdown amidst the rustling tall weeds n the background music is like an old western film. The blizzard storm with large gusts of wind and trees rustling r characters themselves. The cast did a nice job. I ain't aware of the lead characters but I found the chick attractive with the turtle neck tshirt.

Ther is one scene which is a bit inspired from The Revenant. One where Hardy's character shoots the front guy on a horse, while Caprio's character remains lying on the rear horse.

Some may complain that the director is heavily inspired by Quentin Tarantino's films, but they shud realise that Tarantino himself n this film too is inspired by The Great Silence n other classic n spaghetti westerns.

Waste of great casts!

[gagarinpahlevi74 · 3/10 · 5 May 2021]

This movie really has wasted great casts like Chang Chen and Ni Ni! It's a shame. I just love the snowy mountains's set, but not really got into the story.

waste of time

[FeastMode · 1/10 · 26 June 2020]

I watched about 50 minutes of this movie. it lost me almost immediately. i could tell it was poor quality all around. the action and fight scene i saw were BAD. i decided not to waste any more of my time, including on this review.

i can't believe i am the 5th review on IMDb of this 2018 movie. apparently no one saw it. i can't even find a youtube review of it, that's insane, they have numerous reviews of almost every movie i've watched, including really old ones. not sure how it ended up on my watch list. avoid at all costs. watch the raid redemption or oldboy (korean version). (1 viewing, 6/25/2020)