Collateral Damage generated some controversy because its plot, a Colombian terrorist blowing up an office tower, resembled the World Trade Center incident too closely. As a result, its release was delayed until this year when North Americans regained their movie "appetite for destruction." Violence, I guess, is back in fashion.

Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Gordon Brewer, a city fireman, whose wife and child are killed in the explosion. Being a fireman proves handy because he gets to use all sorts of tricks of the trade when he goes to hunt down the terrorist in Columbia. (I’m not sure what would happen if his character were an accountant. Would he stab people with a really sharp pencil?) All of this is old-school stuff for Schwarzenegger and he’s simply revisiting the same type of role he’s played in many other movies. But there’s one big thing missing here: humor. What made those other Schwarzenegger films work so well was his deadpan delivery of bad one-liners. People used to wait anxiously for him to say something that would top "I’ll be back." Schwarzenegger made his distinctive voice and lack of acting prowess an advantage and it was fun to watch him on the screen. As a result, something like those bad jokes could make a whole movie a pleasure. But there’s none of that here, and, frankly, it’s all pretty dry and boring because Schwarzenegger plays it too straight and too serious. The most entertaining thing in this film is the cameo appearance by John Turturro. Of course, that’s not enough to save this film.

Schwarzenegger is at his best when working with certain directors -- most notably James Cameron. Other directors don’t seem to know what to do with him, which can cause his unique acting style to fall flat. What further compounds this is the fact that he’s no longer a young guy. Being one of his biggest fans (not many people can say they’ve seen Hercules Goes Bananas and every film of his since), it hurts me to say that I think that Arnold Schwarzenegger may well be beyond his prime for movies like this and he should look for other types of roles.

Collateral Damage is simply a by-the-books thriller trying to cash in on past glory -- not only Schwarzenegger’s past, but director Andrew Davis’ too (he gave us The Fugitive, and one farfetched scene here is a direct knockoff from that movie). This film is good enough if you don’t expect too much. But being a true Schwarzenegger fan, I can only give it a ** rating.

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