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Collateral
Directed by Michael Mann. Story: A cabbie reluctantly ferries a hitman on his rounds. Running Time: 2 hours. Certificate 15.
Tom Cruise is a funny old stick. He's clearly barking mad and not someone you would want as a buddy - he strikes me as the kind of guy who'd microwave your budgie because it was tweeting at him in a mocking way - but he's certainly got the hang of this silver screen lark. With Collateral, Tom takes a long overdue swim out of the shallow end and finds that he can tread water after all. Granted, the script plays a major part, credited to Stuart Beattie, but the story is brought to life by Tom (Vincent) and Jamie Foxx, the cabbie Max. Despite the ludicrous double-x making him sound like a porn star, Jamie Foxx plays a blinder, bouncing beautifully off Vincent as the in-cab dialogue swings from one edge of morality to the other, taking in all the grey shades along the way. Vincent is a hired killer, but he's just so darned logical and suave that you can't help but be swayed by his patter. It does us good to see through the eyes of a "bad" man once in a while.
Go and see Collateral. Whatever kind of film you enjoy, you'll find something here. I wouldn't expect most viewers to rate it as highly as I do, but nevertheless I can't see many people disliking it. Maybe Mary Whitehouse's clones would point at the politically incorrect portrayal of an assassin as a charismatic businessman, but hey, those kind of people enjoy having something to bleat about so even they are satisfied. Collateral is my favourite film of the year so far and I would recommend it to anyone. I enjoyed this film: I think the average moviegoer will enjoy it: Testosterone Satisfaction Rating: A day in the life of a contract killer. To enjoy this film you should be: not Mary Whitehouse.
To buy Collateral, use the link below: Collateral - Double Disc Edition [DVD] To buy some of Michael Mann's previous films, click on the appropriate link below: Ali - Two Disc Set [2002] |
Cast: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg. 
Visually though, the star of the show has to be the brooding night-time streets of Los Angeles.
Michael Mann's years of experience from Miami Vice to Ali shines through as the viewer journeys
from alley to backwater amidst the sleepy emptiness of the dormant city. Coyotes trot past, nocturnal
citizens scurry furtively and the world gently continues to revolve as the anonymous cab trundles
its way from block to block. The pace and atmosphere seen from outside the cab contrasts perfectly
with the moral turmoil unfolding on the inside and it is these scenes that overwhelmingly make
Collateral so special. Once forced out of the cab and into a conclusion, the illusion is fractured -
which is part of the point, I guess, but it did steal some of the magic that the rest of
the film had worked so hard to create.
