Collateral Movie Review:


Vincent, a cobalt assassin played by Tom Cruise, complains that Los Angeles is too spread out and that Angelenos are disconnected, short on meaningful interactions with their fellow citizens. It's a familiar dig. But in “Collateral,” a sleek and surprisingly substantive crime thriller, the sprawling metropolis becomes a relatively small, if violent and ethnically diverse, city. Vincent is from out of town and the hours we spend with him in the City of the Angels are all about improbable and deadly connections.

To accomplish his night's work -- five drug-related hits linked to a drug trial -- he commandeers the taxicab driven by Max (Jamie Foxx), a fastidious cabbie who takes pride in his job and intends to start up his own high-end car service company. Max appears to have things together but his encounter with Vincent proves otherwise.

On the surface both look like evolved practitioners of their respective professions. When things get too stressful, Max takes refuge in the picture postcard of a tropical island, hence the name of his soon-to-be company, Island Limos. When things start to get hairy for the ex-Special Forces Vincent, he kills -- meticulously and efficiently, using the same gunfire pattern on each victim. He prides himself on being so well prepared that he can always improvise. Max learns the lesson well.

The beauty of “Collateral” is that it offers an alluringly stylish outer package and then goes beneath it. Stuart Beattie's witty script compacts more character development into a small space than half-a-dozen kindred movies. Buddying up perps and their involuntary accomplices in a crime drama or comedy is old hat. Max and Vincent's collaboration is fresh. They are each remarkably intuitive and have the other's number, though it takes Max more time to see past Vincent's cool facade. "Max, I do this for a living," he threateningly explains, as if that justifies the killing. Ultimately, Max won't buy it.

Although he made his name on the other coast as creator of TV's “Miami Vice,” director Michael Mann loves L.A. He also relishes pitting good guys against bad guys without making value judgments until style points have been allotted. “Collateral” is an ideal vehicle for indulging both predilections. In “Heat,” he turned a daytime downtown heist into a spectacular ballet. Here Mann shows a facility for depicting the city at night, illuminated by neon and car headlights and his best choreography takes place in close, dimly lit quarters like nightclubs. This is not the laid-back La-La land of popular imagining. The sun never shines and a prickly menace radiates from the sandy-gray concrete of the boulevards and freeways. Palm trees sway in the night breeze and Vincent is the hot, sharp Santa Ana wind blowing in off the desert.

As he demonstrated directing Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro in “Heat” and guiding Will Smith to an Oscar-nomination in “Ali,” Mann is an actor's director; that is, he's great with male performers. Primo acting by Cruise and Foxx burnishes this sleek entertainment. Cruise gets top billing and deserves attention for the malevolent turn. But it's really Jamie Foxx's movie. He shows serious acting cops and is the scrupulous hero to boot. Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem, and Irma P. Hall savor their supporting roles and Jada Pinkett Smith provides the female sheen as a U.S. attorney.

Vincent's modus operandi doesn't seem like a hedge against getting caught. Indeed, having Max shuttle him around proves to be a real liability. But he has his reasons. On a practical level, where would he park if he were driving himself? Improbabilities and coincidences aside, “Collateral” gets to the heart of the city. In Los Angeles you live and die by the car.

John P. McCarthy

Michael Mann’s Collateral is a tense thriller that highlights the director’s love and dedication of character driven stories set in Los Angeles. Not as masterful or smart as his previous L.A. crime caper Heat; Collateral’s still delivers the goods needed for a potent crime thriller. Even with Mann’s in your face visionary direction and taut performances from Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, Collateral still suffers from a few mishaps along its journey.

The film opens in Los Angeles with Max (Jamie Foxx), who is a dedicated taxi driver that is saving up for better things. Through a mild wager with a beautiful lawyer passenger named Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), Max is left with her card and sense of self-enlightenment. His next passenger is Vincent (Tom Cruise), a gray-haired, unshaven, and outspoken individual who claims that he is in the city for a few hours and offers Max double his pay to drive him to his five important stops. After making his first stop, Max quickly learns that Vincent is a ruthless contract killer that the task of taking out five witnesses of a huge federal indictment against his client. Unwanting the role as driver, Max is now Vincent’s collateral to helping complete his job. As the two move from stop to stop, the police and the FBI begin to put the puzzle together, mostly through the instincts of an aggressive cop named Fanning (Mark Ruffalo). As the police move in to protect the remaining witnesses, will they make in time or will it even matter against the odds of an unconscious monster like Vincent.

Mann creates some very stirring tension in the film, especially during the final two “immense” sequences. He loves to eavesdrop in on the situation, show both sides (good guys and bad guys), show the target, and then to let all hell break loose. Using high definition video to film the majority of Collateral, Mann gives the film an intended grainy and gritty tone. The cab scenes, and there are a lot of them, are shot from all kinds of uncommon and unique angles as well as standard reaction shots from Cruise and Foxx. Though the visuals are stunning and the plot is unique, the overall choices and pacing from Mann and the script by Stuart Beattie does present a few dunce situations. In a film this well made and presented, it just seems that the situations would have been more in tact. There is a scene where Max runs away from Vincent, but leaves the heartless hitman in a hospital room by himself with his ailing mother. Okay. Also, there are numerous times were one would question as to why would Vincent not just kill Max and take his cab to finish the job, if he was that professional. On the other hand, Vincent is a crude sociopath. The cliché of characters getting into huge car wrecks and coming out with just a few cuts and bruises is also evident. Nonetheless, the work by Michael Mann is admirable and overall this is an intriguing thriller that is a lot more stylish and darker than most popcorn thrillers.

Tom Cruise is extrusive in his dark turn as the contracted killer Vincent. Though his murky hair is bothersome at first, Cruise still delivers an effectively different type of performance and his most diverse role since Magnolia. Jamie Foxx goes through a hysteria of emotions in the film as well as he and Cruise sharing great chemistry. There are many pivotal scenes in the film that rely solely on Foxx and Cruise’s dialogue and interactions to carry the film, and neither disappoints. In a smaller roles, Jada Pinkett Smith and Mark Ruffalo deliver worthy work and there is also an interesting cameo by Javier Bardem.

Though Collateral suffers from a few minor bumps in the road in terms of situations and character actions, it is overall a very sound thriller. Tom Cruise flexes his divergent skills as the contract killer Vincent and director Michael Mann once again proves he is one of the most luring filmmakers in Hollywood.

Grade: B

Bailey Henderson

Returning to the silver screen for the first time in 3 years, Michael Mann returns to what made him famous, the gritty crime drama.

Mann’s best films were always housed in a gritty underground themes that produced some of the most unique scenes and memories of dialogue. In films like “Thief”, “Manhunter” and even in some ways his brilliant “The Insider”, Mann always knew how to flesh out the seediest of characters and take us on an incredible journey.

In Mann’s latest project “Collateral”, struggling dreamer Max (Jamie Foxx) slides in behind the wheel of his L.A. taxicab to begin another long evening shift. After 12 years, Max has ideas of how he can leave his days of a cabbie behind. Everything seems very routine that evening until a steadfast businessman named Vincent (Tom Cruise) crawls into his backseat.

Vincent’s ride begins like any other as the conversation between the passenger and driver which is light and rudimentary. That is until they arrive at Vincent’s first stop. Vincent offers Max more than double his nightly wages to be his escort on five planned stops. Max is reluctant but Vincent is very convincing.

After his offer seems planted, Vincent asks Max to wait as he runs into a building leaving his briefcase in the backseat. Just as Max bites into his lunch while he waits, the cab rocks and the windshield cracks as a body hits the cab’s roof with a massive thud.

Max scrambles from the cab and sees Vincent come barreling out of the building. In a state a shock, Max exclaims, “You killed him!”

Vincent is a contract killer and Max is in way over his head.

What makes Collateral so different from previous Mann projects is that the screenplay isn’t cobbled together by Mann himself. And it is that difference that makes it stand out from his previous crime films.

The cinematography, seedy LA nightlife, music and attention to set detail is all vintage Mann. It feels a lot like an updated version of “Thief” in the textures and visual threads.

But in the characters of Vincent and Max, Mann’s approachability and familiarity seems utterly lost. We hardly know either of these guys even as the story eventually concludes.

In other Mann films, it is all about the tiniest of details and since these characters aren’t his something seems to be lost in their cinematic conception.

Tom Cruise holds back all emotion and moves within Vincent’s skin with a sort of methodical accuracy and determination. But his ultimately the portrayal comes off as hollow and desperate instead of cruel and menacing. He almost came off as an opinionated robot. I never felt threatened or taken by Cruise as this supposed vicious killer. Sure he shoots a lot of people but it was never shocking or gruesome just very quick and methodical almost robotic.

I also never understood why these two needed each other so desperately. Or why Vincent just didn’t plug Max and drop him in the cab’s trunk. I never bought the whole concept that Vincent couldn’t mess up Max’s routine. Hundreds of people disappear each and every day, why did one cabbie matter to Vincent?

Jamie Foxx does bring a sort of light-heartedness to the role of Max but ultimately he seems to be playing the same down on his luck cabbie. I never felt horror in Max which is probably what the film needed to succeed. The audience is supposed to view Vincent through Max’s eyes. I am not sure he was ever shocked to the core by Vincent. I do have to say that he does have great screen presence and does have some good chemistry with co-star Jada Pinkett Smith, his on-screen love interest.

There is some interesting dialogue between Vincent and Max but nothing that really solidifies a foundation to who these guys are.

The best scene in the film had to be the claustrophobic nightclub hit which erupts into a frenzy and in some ways reminded me of 1985’s “Year of the Dragon”. Except I thought the body count should have been higher.

I really do think that if Mann had created these characters than Vincent would have been more menacing and Max would have been more mortified. Since we are talking about the man who created the first screen version of Hannibal Lecter in 1986’s “Manhunter” and the powerless fear of whistleblower Lowell Bergman in 1999’s “The Insider”. I am sure he could have done better.

(3 out of 5)

So Says the Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

After dropping off a fare in downtown L.A., the next person in Max’s (Foxx) taxicab isn’t your average passenger. Offering $600 to hire his cab for the night, Vincent (Cruise) says he has five stops to make, meeting friends and concluding some business. Max reluctantly agrees but he’ll wish he hadn’t, as he makes a shocking discover that his fare isn’t the real-estate broker he said he was but a hit-man with five people to kill.

When one of the most talented directors working in Hollywood and biggest star in the world join forces, you have to take notice. Collateral certainly grabs your attention.

Director Michael Mann and Tom Cruise come together to bring you a movie filled with style, violence and tension, all cloaked in the yellow streetlight haze of night time L.A. Starting the meter running from the off, Collateral gives you a small but detailed intro to the character and then takes you on the ride of your life. As soon as the first victim dies, the accelerator is planted firmly to the floor as Vincent pulls Max, kicking and screaming, into his world.

All of this exhilaration is complemented by two lead actors playing against type. Earlier in his career it would have been inconceivable for Hollywood’s golden boy to play a bad guy but now that Tom Cruise is probably the most powerful actor in Tinseltown is can pick and choose roles that challenge his craft. With Vincent he is as far removed from anything he has ever done as he could be. He is a killer and damn good at his job but this isn’t a man who is remorseful for his action, far from it. He is profession, clinical and cold, focused on the job and delivering death in the most sinister fashion. Cruise excels in the role, grabbing it with all the gusto he can muster and giving one of the best performances of his career. Lets hope these brave choices continue as it really showcases his talent.

Mostly known for his more comedic roles and stand-up comedy Jamie Foxx uses Collateral to show that he can also act. As Max, he is an everyman, someone who you can instantly relate to and emphasise with. This is a character that you connect with on every level, as he is just a man saving for his dream and living his life. Foxx excels as he brings the character to life, drawing you into the character through his complete normalcy.

It is Cruise and Foxx that predominately grab most of the screen time but they are supported well by Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo and Peter Berg. Pinkett Smith continues to impress as Annie. This is a small but pivotal part that she really gets to grips with and makes her own. Ruffalo also continues to forge name for himself as Lt. Fanning, the only man who believes the Max isn’t the one committing all the murders.

Director Michael Mann shows again that he is one of the best filmmakers in Hollywood today. He just doesn’t make bad movies and Collateral does nothing to alter that trend. Shooting the entire movie at night brings out a view of Los Angeles that few of us ever see. He makes the city actually look beautiful, tinged in the yellow light of million street lamps as Vincent and Max take their deadly journey together. He also exhilarates you during the action sequences, using the camera more as a witness to the events. He using a lot of close-ups but combining them wonderfully with sprawling high-level shots of the streets and highways, the viewer travels along with the cabby and his abductor from hit to hit with the approach allowing you to find out more about the character and making the cab an environment onto itself.

Collateral is a first rate action drama that showcases all the talent involved. While the ending feels abit too anti-climatic to what has gone on before, the superb performances, stylish direction and brilliant looks make this a must see movie. In fact you deserve a contract putting on your head if you miss it.

Star Rating = * * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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