Sabotage

Sabotage

Year: 2014

Runtime: 109 min

Language: English

Director: David Ayer

ActionDramaThrillerCrime

A highly-trained DEA strike team executes a raid on a massive drug cartel operation, successfully stealing a huge sum of money. However, the mission's success is short-lived as the team members begin to be systematically targeted and eliminated. As the death toll rises, suspicion falls on everyone, and the remaining agents must uncover the mole within their ranks before they become the next victim in a deadly game of revenge.

Warning: spoilers below!

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Timeline & Setting – Sabotage (2014)

Explore the full timeline and setting of Sabotage (2014). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

early 2010s

The events unfold in a contemporary timeframe, roughly around the early to mid-2010s. The story sits in a modern urban crime landscape with inter-agency dynamics and hard-edged surveillance.

Location

Atlanta, Mexico

The action centers on Atlanta as the DEA SOT hunts a cartel, testing loyalties under pressure. The pursuit expands to Mexican locales as Breacher uses the stolen money to track Brujo. The setting shifts between gritty city streets, seedy hideouts, and high-tension pursuit scenes that underscore the film's brutal tone.

🏙️ Urban setting 🔎 Police procedural backdrop 💵 Organized crime

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 19:49

Main Characters – Sabotage (2014)

Meet the key characters of Sabotage (2014), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

John 'Breacher' Wharton

A disciplined, brutal leader of the DEA SOT, Breacher is haunted by his family's murder at the hands of the cartel. He channels grief into a relentless pursuit of the truth and uses unorthodox methods to uncover the killers, showing both ruthless resolve and stubborn loyalty to his team.

🧭 Leader 💀 Haunted past

Lizzy Murray

Witty and dangerously calculating, Lizzy is having an affair with Sugar and plays a pivotal role in the team’s downfall. She orchestrates violence to protect herself and the money, showing a willingness to betray allies for personal gain.

💔 Betrayer 🗡️ Calculating

James 'Monster' Murray

A core member of Breacher's team, Monster is loyal yet finds himself entangled in the team's secrets. He becomes a target of the cartel’s retribution and ultimately meets a grim end.

🕵️‍♂️ Loyal 🗡️ Targeted

Joe 'Grinder' Philips

A member who discloses the group's internal theft, Grinder’s revelation triggers a fatal chain of events. He is killed by Lizzy as the plan to keep the money unravels.

🔎 Revealer ⚠️ Risk-taker

Julius 'Sugar' Edmonds

Sugar is involved in the scheme and shares an affair with Lizzy, revealing the personal entanglements that fuel the scheme. He is ultimately killed by Lizzy as part of the score settling.

💔 Lover 🗡️ Schemer

Tom 'Pyro' Roberts

One of Breacher's team members, Pyro’s death comes in a brutal trap when his motorhome is towed onto a railroad crossing and struck by a train.

🔥 Firestarter 💀 Fatal

Bryce 'Tripod' McNeely

Tripod dies in a gunfight that follows a confrontation after the theft of the money, underscoring the fragility of trust within the DEA group.

🪛 Tech-savvy 🪖 Soldier

"Smoke" Jennings

Smoke dies during the cartel raid, early on, as the team wipes the cash stockpile and escapes with some of it, setting up the mystery of missing money.

💨 Early casualty 🕳️ Hidden stash

Caroline Brentwood

Atlanta homicide detective assigned to the case, Brentwood investigates the missing money and suspects cartel involvement. A wary professional who navigates Breacher's complex relationship, she becomes entwined with him on a personal level.

🕵️‍♀️ Detective 🗺️ Investigative

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 19:49

Major Themes – Sabotage (2014)

Explore the central themes of Sabotage (2014), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

🗡️ Revenge

Revenge drives the plot as Lizzy and Sugar murder teammates to cover their tracks and keep the money. Breacher's family tragedy fuels a relentless pursuit of those responsible. The vendetta escalates into lethal confrontations and a final reckoning that blurs moral lines.

💔 Betrayal

Trust within the DEA team crumbles as secrets, money, and affairs erupt into violence. Lizzy's affair with Sugar triggers decisive betrayals, including the murders of Grinder and others. The detectives navigate misdirection as the true killers are revealed in a web of double-crosses.

⚖️ Morality

The film probes whether ends justify means as Breacher and his team bend rules to survive. Stolen money, staged investigations, and the use of bribery to identify Brujo push characters toward morally gray choices. The story challenges audience assumptions about justice, loyalty, and accountability.

Last Updated: October 03, 2025 at 19:49

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Betrayal thrillers with tense mystery like in Sabotage

Stories where the greatest threat comes from the people you trust most.This collection features movies like Sabotage, focusing on high-stakes stories of betrayal from within a tight-knit group. If you enjoyed the whodunit mystery and the paranoid atmosphere of team members hunting a mole, you'll find similar gripping thrillers here. These films masterfully build tension through deception and shifting loyalties.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative typically centers on a close group—a team, family, or organization—that is torn apart by a hidden traitor. As members are systematically targeted, the remaining survivors must investigate each other, leading to shocking revelations and often violent confrontations that destroy the group's foundation.

Why These Movies?

These movies are grouped together for their shared core theme of internal betrayal, which creates a specific kind of suspense and paranoia. They feature fast-paced investigations, high emotional stakes, and a dark tone where trust is the ultimate casualty.

Gritty and violent action movies with a dark tone like Sabotage

Vicious crime stories where violence leads to a hollow victory.Explore more movies like Sabotage that deliver a brutal, fast-paced action experience with a heavy emotional weight. If you liked the gritty atmosphere, high-intensity violence, and the bittersweet, vengeful resolution, this collection is for you. These films prioritize a dark, unforgiving tone and complex, morally ambiguous characters.

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Narrative Summary

Stories in this thread follow a linear, often vengeful path propelled by action set pieces. The protagonist's quest is fueled by personal loss or moral outrage, but the resolution rarely offers clean catharsis. Instead, success comes at a great personal cost, emphasizing the cyclical or destructive nature of violence.

Why These Movies?

These films share a specific blend of high-octane action, a dark and gritty aesthetic, and a narrative that embraces moral ambiguity. The experience is defined by its heavy emotional weight, brutal violence, and a conclusion that subverts traditional heroic satisfaction.

Unlock the Full Story of Sabotage

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Sabotage Summary

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Sabotage Summary

Sabotage Timeline

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Sabotage Timeline

Sabotage Spoiler-Free Summary

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Sabotage Spoiler-Free Summary

More About Sabotage

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