I really wanted to like this having seen the trailer but was a bit disappointed. I felt the casting let it down quite a bit and the story wasn't really anything new

Unfortunately for Savage, rightly or wrongly, this film is always going to be compared to Once Were Warriors. Whilst the stories have similarities they really aren't that close.

However the problem for Savage is unlike OWW it never really finds it soul and heart. Its not for a lack of trying. I think the shorter running time robs the film of more time to connect us to the characters pain. We understand it intellectually but its not enough to connect us.

Has some good moments but not enough.

Savage isn't a movie for everybody. But for some people it will be recognizable, maybe not everything but certain passages are gripping. Child abuse, violent parenthood, going down the wrong path to escape harsh reality, and of course finding the wrong crew to hang out with which is sometimes the only place you find likeminded people. I found the whole movie well made, a bit violent at times, but that's the gang life we all think about. Good acting from the whole cast also. Jake Ryan, as Damage, did a great job playing his abused character. It's not all violence, sometimes it's about compassion and forgiveness, sometimes it's emotional if you give the story a chance to unfold.