‘Savages’ review: Flashy, violent and utterly dull

‘Savages’ review: Flashy, violent and utterly dull she’s kidnapped by a brutal Baja drug cartel with a flair for decapitation. Complain as loudly as you like about Oliver Stone – his politics, posturing and relationship with the facts – but until now he hasn’t directed a film that’s flat-out dull. All those flashy graphics, super-exposed colors and hyper-kinetic rewinds can’t cover for a complete and utter dearth of real ideas. The hunky marijuana boys are Chon (Taylor Kitsch), the damaged veteran, and Ben (Aaron Johnson), the dreamy Buddhist with the bouncy hair, and you could not find two less-interesting drug fiends anywhere in the movies. Thank goodness for John Travolta’s small, snappish role as a complicated DEA agent. In his best scene, he mixes it up with del Toro, swaps threats and exhortations, pleads a little, yells a little, mourns his dying wife and ultimately concludes, “You can’t trust anyone any more!”