Savages

Just about everyone in Savages is up to no good. So it becomes each character’s relative degree of evil that divides the heroes from the villains.

Murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking, money laundering, police corruption – that’s just a fraction of the devious deeds that drive this intense crime drama from Oscar-winning director Oliver Stone.

The film is most noteworthy for its level of brutality — including torture and dismemberment — that makes it unfit for the squeamish. However, it also offers a smart and fresh tale of drug cartels with a twisty plot and a top-notch cast.

The plot tracks young California marijuana entrepreneurs Chon (Taylor Kitsch) and Ben (Aaron Johnson), whose desire to grow the business leads them south of the border to Alex (Demian Bichir), an associate of a ruthless drug cartel that demands to partner with them.

The pair quickly gets in over their heads, and things spiral out of control when the cartel kidnaps their shared girlfriend, Ophelia (Blake Lively), causing them to pair Chon’s brawn with Ben’s brain in a dangerous revenge scheme that becomes a fight for survival.

Stone brings his usual visual flair to the material, and he’s helped along by some solid performances from a deep ensemble cast. Kitsch (John Carter) and Johnson (Nowhere Boy) develop a convincing rapport as a pair of naïve young dealers who get in over their heads.

In the supporting roles, Benicio del Toro is superbly menacing as a loose-cannon henchman with conflicted loyalties, and Salma Hayek manages to be ruthless without sacrificing her sex appeal as the head of the Mexican cartel. John Travolta makes an impression during a few key sequences as a shady federal agent.

The screenplay, adapted from a 2010 novel by Don Winslow, was adapted by a trio of writers including Winslow and Stone. It feels disjointed in spots but never lacks for energy, and there’s an audacious trick ending that should leave audiences polarized.

Savages hints at some contemporary social issues, including domestic border security, marijuana legalization, recession-era terrorism and wartime post-traumatic stress disorder, without expanding much on any of them. But that’s not really the point.

The film’s title refers to every character in it. In a world filled with savages, only the strongest and most cunning survive, if that’s anyone at all.

Rated R, 129 minutes.