FILM: Savages (15)

In Oliver Stone’s films, the wicked pay heavily for their manifold sins and the Oscar-winning writer-director certainly doles out tough justice to the godforsaken characters in this serpentine and sexually-charged immorality tale co-written by Shane Salerno and Don Winslow.

Violence begets more violence as two best friends with a thriving marijuana business are challenged for control of their idyllic strip of Laguna Beach in California by a powerful drug cartel.

No one here is truly innocent, even kidnap victims are painted in shades of grey.

The script spices up the back-stabbing and betrayal with breathless sex scenes between the good-looking leads, including a hazy, post-bong fumble that suggests three might not be a crowd after all.

Stone directs with typical gusto but he should have trimmed back the voiceover narration that occasionally errs towards unintentional hilarity, such as when the heroine compares her two lovers to cold metal and warm wood.

She’ll need to watch out for splinters.

Talented botanist Ben (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and his buddy Chon (Taylor Kitsch), a former Navy Seal and ex-mercenary, make a small fortune by growing marijuana in their sun-baked stretch of Orange County.

They are connected by pampered rich girl Ophelia (Blake Lively), who showers them both with sexual favours.

Then the Mexican Baja Cartel, run by Elena (Salma Hayek), her enforcer Lado (Benicio Del Toro) and legal eagle Alex (Demian Bichir), swaggers into the town and forcefully suggests Ben and Chon share the secrets of their lucrative business model.

Corrupt DEA agent Dennis (John Travolta), who has underhand dealings with Ben and Chon, urges the duo to accept Elena’s offer. Chon disagrees.

“When they smell fear, they will attack us. They’re savages!” he tells Ben, urging his petrified buddy to stay strong in the face of intimidation.