Review: Collateral (2004)
Susan Granger
Tom Cruise loves challenges - and this is a big one. In this
exhilarating, contemporary thriller directed by Michael Mann, he plays Vincent,
an imperious, inscrutable, yet engaging hit-man, who arrives in Los Angeles
with a contract to assassinate five people. He commandeers a taxi driven by Max
(Jamie Foxx), noting that LA is "sprawled out, disconnected, like me."
Vincent's offer of $700 cash is irresistible since, for years, Max has had
dreams of starting his own limo company. Although he soon realizes that his
passenger is a cold-blooded killer, Max is drawn in deeper and deeper until
it's too late to escape, particularly in a city where "nobody notices."
Wearing a bespoke suit that sets off his stylish, cropped, silvery hair,
Tom Cruise is not only convincing but compelling. In a complex, meticulously
detailed performance, Cruise plays evil as if he'd been dipped in it, while
Jamie Foxx ("Breakin' All the Rules") is superb as his mild-mannered
"everyman" hostage. Jada Pinkett Smith ("The Matrix Reloaded") makes an
indelible impression as a savvy, sly prosecutor who precedes Vincent in Max's
cab and then crops up later in the story, while Irma P. Hall is effective in a
brief scene as Max's feisty hospitalized mother.
Working from Stuart Beattie's intelligent, multi-layered script that
delineates the unlikely relationship between these two disparate men, director
Michael Mann ("The Insider") keeps the tension taut while exploring the nuances
of each character-driven scene, although the conclusion seems agonizingly
anti-climactic, as does the dutiful subplot involving two narcotics detectives
(Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg) and an FBI agent (Bruce McGill). On the Granger
Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "Collateral" is an intense, unflinching 8. It's
paralyzingly seductive and suspenseful.
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Steve Rhodes
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In COLLATERAL, by director Michael Mann (THE INSIDER), Tom Cruise plays a bad
guy, a really bad guy named Vincent. (Reportedly, Cruise was offered the part
of the good guy but wanted to play the bad one instead.) In L.A. just for the
night, Vincent is a hit man with five names on his dance card. Although he's
only supposed to plug five people, he doesn't think twice about shooting any
more that get even briefly in his way. With his crisp white shirt and his
expensive gray suit, which appears to have been chosen to match his perfectly
coiffured gray hair, he looks like an executive, not a killer, especially given
the meticulous way he keeps all of his notes on his high tech, tablet computer.
For transportation, Vincent commandeers a taxi along with its very reluctant
driver, a sweet and reserved cabby named Max (Jamie Foxx). Together they share
a night of crime. Along the way, Vincent passes the time with some great
sarcastic humor that you'll appreciate, but Max doesn't. COLLATERAL is no
comedy, but it sure can be funny at times. It's definitely a thriller, but one
with something of a pacing problem. Sometimes the two guys in the cab appear
to be more interested in killing time than people, and the movie features too
much dead air when nothing much is happening.
The real delight in COLLATERAL is soaking up Cruise's acting. He is so
terrific in the part that you'll be thinking of another actor (Denzel
Washington) used to playing good guys who turned evil in TRAINING DAY to great
critical acclaim. I doubt if the critics will go gaga over Cruise's work the
way they did over Washington's, however. Cruise is quite good but we are not
talking Oscar.
The compelling story reaches its zenith in the long last act. Although twice
needlessly telegraphed, the somewhat predictable conclusion is still
satisfying.
COLLATERAL runs 1:59. It is rated R for "violence and language" and would be
acceptable for teenagers.
My son Jeffrey, age 15, gave the film *** 1/2. He really enjoyed the film's
high action and the acting by both Cruise and Foxx. He thought the movie was
slower than the trailers made it seem, and he didn't like its grainy look. [It
was shot on high definition digital video.]
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, August 6, 2004. In
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
Web: http://www.InternetReviews.com
Email: Steve....@InternetReviews.com
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Robin Clifford
Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) may just be an LA cabbie but
he dreams of owning his own limo service and escaping
the big city hubbub. That is until, one night, he
picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), a "real estate
developer" who hires Max to ferry him across the city
to his five scheduled appointments. When the first
comes crashing down on the roof of the taxi, dead, Max
realizes that Vincent is not exactly what he says he
is in "Collateral"
Jamie Foxx plays everyman Max, who has toiled for 12
years behind the wheel of his taxi saving up for the
day when he can start his own business – Island
Limousine Service. Driving at night, because there is
less traffic and better tips, he picks up Annie
Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith), a federal prosecuting
attorney trying to put a major drug lord behind bars
but who fears that she will fail. Considerate Max
gives her a pep talk and convinces Annie that she can
do it! Attracted to the kind cabbie, she gives him her
card and suggests he call her. Things are looking up
for Max – until his next fare climbs into his cab.
Smooth-talking Vincent asks Max to drive him to his
many appointments that night but the taxi driver
refuses, saying it is against the rules. When his
passenger flashes $600, with the promise of $100 more,
Max can't turn down the offer and they head into Los
Angeles. As Max waits for Vincent to finish his first
appointment he daydreams about the good life, his own
business and a new fancy car when – crash! A body
lands on the cab's roof, smashing the windscreen. Max
learns very quickly that Vincent is something other
than a successful real estate speculator and is forced
to ferry the killer, or die.
Michael Mann has created a slick and flashy
it-happened-one-night action yarn that keeps its
frenetic tempo moving along as Vincent goes from one
hit to the next with the reluctant Max in firm tow.
The handsome, philosophical hit man goes about his
business efficiently and deadly with his hostage
helpless to do anything but comply or die. As they
traverse LA the body count rises, the FBI get involved
and Max is mistaken, by authorities, as the killer.
It's a very sticky situation for the haggard hack but
Max, in the end, is inspired to act.
"Collateral" is a solid actioner that works for most
of its run time but reverts, in the end, to a damsel
in distress cat-and-mouse game that, while fast-paced
and visually exciting, is little more than a rehashed
"Terminator." The relentless Vincent simply wants to
wrap up his night of mayhem and get the heck out of
Dodge – no matter the cost to others, especially Max.
The finale, unfortunately, slumps into the expected
and loses what edge had been built up for three
quarters of the film. Scripter Stuart Beattie writes
an intriguing, if predictable, night-in-the-life story
that benefits strongly from an everyman performance by
Jamie Foxx and a dead on, chew the scenery supporting
perf by Mr. Cruise.
Foxx, who rose to the top with his electric
performance in Oliver Stone's "Any Given Sunday,"
takes on the role of an ordinary Joe thrust into
extraordinary circumstances. Much of the story is
through Max's eyes as he, first, woos Annie with his
kindness and charm, then fights to survive against the
wily hit man visiting LA to fulfill his five contract
kills for drug kingpin, Felix (Javier Bardem). You can
pretty much guess what's going to happen but Foxx
gives dimension to his portrayal of Max Durocher.
Tom Cruise, on the other hand, does not have to be the
anchor in "Collateral" and, as such, gets away with
murder, literally, in his depiction of a ruthless,
pragmatic killer who is very good at what he does. The
handsome actor gives a tight, physical performance as
a man with a mission who will brook no obstacle to
finish his night's work. I can only imagine that the
megastar had an enormous amount of fun playing a bad
guy for the first time in his long career.
Supporting cast is an embarrassment of underutilized
riches with the likes of Mark Ruffalo as LA police
detective Ray Fanning whose snitch happens to be the
first of Vincent's victims. Jada Pinkett Smith, as the
pretty lawyer endangered by Vincent, is here only as a
plot device and, as such, gets little to do except be
scared and beautiful. Bruce McGill, Peter Berg, Irma
P. Hall and Javier Bardem are also along for the ride
but are definitely passengers, not participants, in
this Michael Mann saga.
As we have come to expect in a film by Michael Mann,
"Collateral" is a slickly done black comedy/drama that
has both murderous mayhem and laughs (often the
uncomfortable kind) to keep you entertained. Techs are
provided by a skilled collection of craftsmen that
give the film an exciting look, from the dynamic
lensing by Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron to the
nighttime scenery of Los Angeles. One scene, the best
in the film, takes place in a huge nightclub, packed
to the rafters with partiers and invaded by Vincent
(with Max forced to tag along) and a slew of heavily
armed cops and FBI agents hunting the killer down.
It's refreshing to see a major star play out of his
usual role, especially for one as big as Tom Cruise,
and let the icon status take a back seat to the
supporting character they portray. It's nice to see
someone as huge as Cruise give the limelight to
someone on the rise, like Foxx. Then again, Mann and
company provide the megastar a role he could really
wrap his arms around. I give "Collateral" a B.
For more Reeling reviews visit www.reelingreviews.com
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Bob Bloom
Pinkett
Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Irma P. Hall and Barry Shabaka
Henley.
Music by James Newton Howard. Written by Stuart Beattie. Directed by Michael
Mann.
Rated R.
Though he has been at it for 12 years, Max considers his job as a cabbie only
temporary, as he has dreams of opening an exclusive, high-end limousine
service.
But all that changes the night Max picks up two fares whose lives will soon
intertwine
and change his.
The first is U.S. attorney Annie Farrell. The other is an enigmatic individual
named
Vincent, who buys Max's cab for the night.
Vincent has just flown into Los Angeles to conduct some business. He has to
meet
five people than catch a 6 a.m. flight out of LAX.
Unbeknownst, at first, to Max is that Vincent is a contract killer and that
his
appointments are with witnesses in a drug trial. His job is to silence them for
good.
When Vincent's first victim lands atop Max's cab, he realizes his passenger in
not
who he claims to be. But Vincent needs a driver and intimidates Max into
chauffeuring him around L.A. from one deadly assignment to another.
For the rest of Michael Mann's gripping Collateral, the two joust and spar as
Max
continually tries to gain the upper hand on the much-smarter hit man.
Written by Stuart Beattie, Collateral allows Tom Cruise to unmask his dark
side. Who
knew that behind the charming smile that has enraptured countless millions
lurked a
stone-cold killer.
Cruise allows you to glimpse that persona in his character's eyes. They are
steely,
ever-vigilant and without emotion.
He kills as easily as you or I sip a cup of coffee.
Mann, the director behind such stylish features as Heat, The Last of the
Mohicans
and Manhunter (the film that introduced Hannibal Lecter to the world), as well
as
the creator of TV's Miami Vice, knows how to create mood and build tension.
He creates a noirish atmosphere in which you can almost smell the danger.
Cruise gives the performance of his career. He covers Vincent's methodical
killer
with a veneer of warmth, humor and a laserlike insight into human nature.
Cruise subdues his usual exuberance to present a grim professional who will
let
nothing nor any person hinder him.
Jamie Foxx as Max proves beyond a doubt that his dramatic performances in Any
Given Sunday and Ali were no flukes.
His Max is a warm, sensitive individual, seemingly lacking any true
motivation. Being a
cabbie for so many years helps him develop observations about his passengers.
Driving Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith) to her office, he notices how stressed she
is and
gives her his prized possession — a picture of a small island — to help her
relax.
Collateral has some flaws and implausibilities, but the overall drama of the
feature
plus the wonderfully textured performances overcome these minor obstacles.
The movie is an actor's showcase, with Cruise and Foxx mesmerizing the
audience.
The film will grip you from the very beginning with no let up.
For those awaiting a movie without superheroes, monsters or an overload of
special
effect, Collateral is a ride you want to catch.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He
can be
reached by e-mail at bbl...@journalandcourier.com or at b...@bloomink.com.
Bloom's reviews also can be found at the Journal and Courier Web site:
www.jconline.com
Other reviews by Bloom can be found at the Rottentomatoes Web site:
www.rottentomatoes.com or at the Internet Movie Database Web site:
www.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Bob+Bloom
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Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: Jamie Foxx plays a cab driver who gets an
unusual passenger, a professional assassin who has
a list of people to kill that night. The driver
learns from the assassin how to live his life.
The passenger learns why it is better for an
assassin to drive himself, even in Los Angeles.
Tom Cruise, the assassin, adds another good
performance to his portfolio. But under scrutiny
the premise is actually absurd and script really
falls to pieces. Rating: +1 (-4 to +4) or 6/10
Tom Cruise long ago mastered the role of handsome lead and hero.
He moved on to a variety of more complex roles like a
dysfunctional maladjusted political activist, an amoral vampire, a
disaffected warrior, a man who learns to love his autistic
brother. Along the way his acting talent has steadily developed.
He is still limited. I doubt he could convey strong emotions the
way a Lee J. Cobb could. But he passed long ago the stage where
he was mostly decorative.
In COLLATERAL Cruise is a calculating and systematic hired
assassin. This time around he is not even the main character
though he certainly is the center of attention. We see the night
that the film takes place through the eyes of Max (played by Jamie
Foxx), the cab driver that assassin Vincent (Cruise) has hired to
take him around to his next five victims. From the Max's point of
view the story is a tense thriller. The cabby has to try to save
the lives of the victims and very possibly his own life. This
puts him in the position of sometimes working against Vincent and
sometimes working for him.
The surprise inside the story is that if we see the film through
the eyes of the assassin Vincent it turns from a thriller into a
shaggy dog story. Vincent, who outwardly looks so cool and
professional, is really something of a bumbler. The evening goes
nothing like he could have planned it. His primary error is to
put the success of his assignment and his very life into the hands
of an innocent bystander over whom he has so little control. We
are told why he does this and it still seems a bone-headed
maneuver that is not worth the risk and would likely not work the
way he hopes. He gets what he deserves. (I will discuss his
motive in more detail in a spoiler section following the review.)
Over the course of the evening Vincent loses the data he needs for
his work, he is made to look like a fool to his employers, and he
ends up in the hospital visiting his driver's mother Ida (Irma
P. Hall of the recent THE LADYKILLERS). At one point he has his
gun pointed directly at his victim and for no particular reason he
just pauses. And we quickly see why no assassin would ever do
that. In the end Vincent's worst nightmare about Los Angeles
comes true for him. It is unclear whether director Michael Mann
and writer Stuart Beattie recognized how unprofessional the
professional Vincent is. Certainly they hope the audience does
not notice.
In the course of the night there is a good deal of discussion of
philosophies of life. Max has big plans for his future but lies
to himself about going after those goals. Vincent wants to help
Max to control his life, but Vincent has his own fears. Max has
his own ideas of how to handle fears, which he imparts to an
earlier passenger, but is also limited by his own fears. Along
these lines there is someone else we see relating to Vince and Max
about the happiest night of his life.
Cruise here has prematurely grayed hair, dark glasses, a few days'
growth of beard, and a knockout suit. Somehow the look is one I
associate with Richard Gere. From a distance he even resembles
Gere. By now Mann is an old hand at filming crime stories set in
Los Angeles. Still at times his visual style seems to fight the
camera's storytelling. A sequence filmed in a disco is almost
incoherent.
COLLATERAL is one of those films that seem like one kind of film
while you watch it and becomes a very different film with thought
afterward. Still it rivets the viewer because it does not give
the viewer time to think about the premise. I rate it a +1 on the
-4 to +4 scale or 6/10.
Spoiler ... Spoiler ... Spoiler ...
The implication is that Vincent has been successful in framing a
similar driver on a similar assignment and the police had assumed
that they were random killings by a cab driver who suddenly turned
psychotic. But presumably in that assignment the victims were
related as they are here. It seems unlikely that the police would
think an amateur and psychotic would just happen to choose a
related set of victims. Even if they believe that once they would
never believe it twice and in fact they do not. A real
professional would have driven himself or gotten a local driver he
could trust. But then there would have been no story to tell.
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2004 Mark R. Leeper
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Wahid Sharif
a review by
Wahid Sharif
There's a scene in "Collateral" where Vincent (Tom Cruise) attempts to
educate Max (Jamie Foxx) on the nuances of Jazz, and how you have look beyond
the surface of the notes to feel and understand the impact of the music. "It's
all in the inprovisation", as Vincent tells Max. In a way, "Collateral" feels
like a fine piece of Jazz with shifts in mood, tone, and moments that feel
freshly improvised. Although the film is structured like a typical crime
thriller, it's what's beneath the genre conventions to discover all the
complexities of the main characters and situations. This is combined with the
sense that what we're seeing on screen really feels like it's happening now.
This film is fine return to form for Director Michael Mann (after the muddled,
incomplete, and inaccurate "Ali") who shows that he's among the best ever in
the genre he's most comfortable with: The crime genre. In this film, he
presents Los Angeles at night in possibly the most gritty and dangerously
beautiful way ever done on film (And video. The scenes at night were shot in
digital video).
Tom Cruise turns in a chilling performance as Vincent, a contract killer
who arrives in Los Angeles to kill five people who are in connection with a
case against a crime boss named Felix (Javier Bardem). When we first see the
well dressed, gray-haired Vincent, he's at the airport exchanging briefcases
with a complete "stranger". He gets into the taxicab of the sweet, reserved and
good-natured Max (Jamie Foxx in a solid and complex performance) and lures Max
with his charm and six-hundred bucks to drive him around the city all night to
see some "friends". Vincent goes to see his first "friend" and a body crashes
on top of Max's cab. Max quickly exits the cab out of shock and horror (albeit
comically), and soon he realizes the charming passenger he's just picked up
isn't really seeing some friends (If Vincent were really seeing some friends,
then he has a helluva way of showing his friendship). This doesn't become about
the six-hundred bucks anymore as Vincent forces Max to drive him around to from
place to place to make his rounds of killing the people he's been hired to
kill.
The pure joy and heart of the film is the interaction between Vincent and
Max. Through this interaction, we get a sense of who they are, and the
dimensions in their psychological makeup. In Vincent, he's intelligent,
charming, and seems to be a person you'd hang out with. Instead, we discover
that he's a bit of a sociopath who kills without a single trace of remorse. It
can be argued that yes, he's in the profession that he's in, so he has to be
that way. However, a lesser film would not dug deep into the backstory of his
character the way "Collateral" does. Here we fully understand, through his
abusive childhood, why Vincent is the way he is. No one has ever really loved
him his whole life - Therefore, he grows not to value life or anything
sentimental as he is cold and indifferent(A perfect example is the scene where
a Jazz club owner looks back fondly and sentimentally on playing with Miles
Davis, and Vincent, with his charm, pretends to be interested). Although, he's
the way he is, we still in some warped way, root for Vincent as he makes his
rounds killing people because he's so charismatic, bright, and likeable. Also,
the people he's been hired to kill are considered to be bad people themselves.
Well, everyone except Annie (Jada Pinkett Simth) a federal prosecutor in
the case against Felix. In the very beginning of the film (It's wonderful
sequence) Max picks up Annie in his cab and they have a sweet and engrossing
conversation that is in some way a bit flirtatious. However, in this
conversation, they open up and share some things about themselves. Annie, is a
tough prosecutor who cries before a big case and Max has dreams of running his
own limosuine service. Max has a good head on his shoulders, and he's a dreamer
(He keeps a picture of a tropical island in his cab to "take a vacation"
several times a day). But, Max is also an underachiever in life, and he's a bit
sheltered. Driving that cab is the perfect metaphor for how sheltered he is, as
it cocoons him from not only the hustle and bustle of the world, but possibly
his own dreams and aspirations that deep down he knows won't ever happen
(Vincent quotes John Lennon and tells Max, "Life is what happens when you're
making other plans"). Yet, during this wild and bizzare night, having Vincent
in his cab is possibly the best thing to happen to Max as Vincent encourages
him to take more chances and get out of his comfort zone. Interacting with Max,
may be the best thing to happen to Vincent in the since that Max represents the
humanity that's been lost in him for a long time (In one scene, Max tells
Vincent: "You lack standard parts that's supposed to be there in most people").
However, Vincent is like those pack of coyotes who roam through the dark
streets during one point in the film, coming from the wild to make his way
through civilization, living the only way he knows how...By instinct.
GRADE: A
Wahid Sharif
moodybas...@hotmail.com
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JoBlo
RATING: 8/10
http://www.joblo.com/collateral.htm
For more reviews and movie trailers, visit http://www.joblo.com/
PLOT:
A lowly Los Angeles cab driver picks up a man who happens to be a hired killer
in town to assassinate five individuals by dawn. The taxi driver is forced to
take him around as he eliminates the targets from his list and a local cop gets
closer and closer to them. Tom Cruise in gray hair ensues...
CRITIQUE:
Tom Cruise can do no wrong. Consider this film yet another amazing achievement
in this man's burgeoning movie resume, which at this point, can likely be
considered one of the greatest looking filmographies of all-time. Yeah, I don't
usually use hyperboles, but when it comes to Cruise, I think it's time to whip
out the clap-o-meter and give this guy a well-deserved round of major applause
already. In yet another very cool and memorable performance, Cruise delivers a
different type of character, a relentless hitman with very little heart, but as
per his usual style, manages to inject into him, the believability, strength
and charm required for the audience to run alongside. Kudos, my Scientologist
friend! But the film isn't a Cruise vehicle as much as it's yet another superb
L.A. crime creation by the man behind such movies as MANHUNTER, THIEF and HEAT,
Michael Mann, who once again, manages to slap you right into the vast scummy
underground of the City of Angels, with a script that starts slow but delivers
at every step, with a number of actors coming in for small roles, and an ending
that builds and builds and builds...until it washes over you like a fountain of
dirty water. I really loved this film. Yes, from the moment that a body flies
out of a 4-story building and onto a cab and barely scratches the thing, the
audience is asked to suspend its disbelief for a variety of scenes, but I went
with it, I appreciated the film being set at night, when very few people are
around and a lot more can be done (I should know, I do my best work from
midnight to six in the morning...although I don't kill people, I just run a
dinky website), and I really liked Cruise's character, who was a major
hard-ass, but also very collected, which gave me more than enough reason to
believe most of the stuff that went down.
Jamie Foxx was also very good as Cruise's "victim" for the night, with lots of
close-ups really giving you a feel of his early sense of fear and frustration,
and leading to a number of other emotional points. The great Mark Ruffalo,
looking as sharp as ever, also kicked some ass as the man on the chase, as did
the surprising Jada Pinkett-Smith, who I always thought sucked as an actress,
but who looked both beautiful and acted very well here (her opening sequence
with Foxx was a nice introduction to things). But at the end of the day, it's
the story and the city of Los Angeles that take this movie to that other level,
with many a great crime being committed, a number of very cool directing
choices and memorable sequences (including a few surprisingly funny ones),
making this movie one of the best of the year. The film also blends a soulful
message about the preciousness of life and the lack of desire and strength of
will in some, through its violent tale, with the two lead characters, one
seemingly "good", the other "bad", ultimately learning a lot more from one
another than you might think (somewhat reminiscent of the DeNiro/Pacino
showdown from HEAT). But before you think the film is too "sappy", note the
number of shoot-out scenes, the chases (there isn't a man alive that can run
cooler than Tom Cruise on film), bloody finishes, Mexican stand-offs and
surprise kills. The film even reminded me of THE TERMINATOR at some points. All
in all, COLLATERAL is a great summer movie that most anyone looking for action,
engaging characters, funny moments, exciting shoot-outs and a fulfilling ending
will surely appreciate. Yipes! And I didn't even mention the soundtrack, which
was very diverse and ideal for each sequence. And oh yeah, remember to look for
the scene with "the wolves"...classic stuff! Nice nod to TAXI DRIVER as well
(pay close attention to the "mom scene" in the hospital)
Where's JoBlo coming from?
Ali (4/10) - Collateral Damage (6/10) - Dark Blue (5/10) - Fargo (7/10) - Heat
(9/10) - Kill Bill: Volume I (8/10) - La Femme Nikita (9/10) - Sexy Beast
(6/10) - Taxi Driver (10/10) - Training Day (7/10)
Review Date: July 28, 2004
Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Stuart Beattie
Producers: Michael Mann, Julie Richardson
Actors: Tom Cruise as Vincent
Jamie Foxx as Max
Jada Pinkett Smith as Annie
Genre: Crime
Year of Release: 2004
------------------------------------
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------------------------------------
(c) 2004 Berge Garabedian
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Ryan Ellis
reviewed by Ryan Ellis
August 10, 2004
My Tagline---Meet the new Cruise, the most unprofessional hitman in movie
history
While Tom Cruise doesn't always feel the love from the critics, I often find
myself defending him to naysayers. This zillionaire is not afraid to work
with superstar actors and big-time directors. And now in 'Collateral' he's
trying something new. Here's the All-American hero dying his hair gray,
sportin' some facial hair, filling out a stone-cold gray suit, and shifting
into villain mode. What's going on with the Toms lately? First Hanks is a
hitman in 'Road To Perdition', now Cruise is a contract killer in
'Collateral'. Playing a heel---not to mention a heel who shoots people for a
living---is a risk for a virtuous Hollywood leading man. Maybe it was the
right choice. Cruise has never been the most relaxed actor anyway and here
he gets to play a cold, calculating paycheck player.
Does it work? Here and there, from time to time. I respected Tommy's
December '03 Oscar bait, 'Dances With Samurai', but didn't particulary enjoy
it or get much out of it. For such a high-class production, the film left no
mark. Even though the marvelous Michael Mann directs 'Collateral', this film
has the same shrug-inducing problem. [Plus, the star is upstaged by the guy
sharing the screen, as he was by Ken Watanabe in the samurai flick.] Jaime
Foxx is just better than Cruise---more believable, anyway---although the
megastar is compelling in this uncharacteristic role of a clear-cut bad guy.
The classic protagonist/antagonist relationship is satisfactory, despite the
preponderance of Deep Conversations we've heard a thousand times before.
It's a drag that the Stuart Beattie script repeatedly lets them down.
The story itself is a screenplay conceit. We're supposed to believe that
Vincent (Cruise) is a phenomenal hitman who scoops big money for his
services, even though he recklessly tears Los Angeles apart in his quest to
gun down 5 witnesses in an upcoming federal trial. [A nuclear bomb would be
quieter than this guy.] Max (Foxx) is a neat-freak cab driver who dreams of
running a limo service on a tropical island. Vincent gives Max a handful of
Ben Franklins to be his personal driver for the night. That's not a bad
pitch for a movie. It's evil versus good when the killer kidnaps the cabbie.
But it would be a dull story if Max drove Vincent around all night and had
no idea what was really going on, so he has to find out about it sooner or
later, right?
Make that sooner. And, please, somebody tell Beattie that it's not polite to
box the director into a corner with this version of "sooner". You've
probably seen the trailer where Cruise's first victim crashes down onto
Foxx's cab. If the villain wanted to perform his murdering tasks without the
innocent cabbie knowing anything about it, surely this high-priced pro would
find a way to be more discreet than to put 3 slugs in a guy standing near a
window. But then Foxx would remain in the dark and there'd be no movie.
Trouble is, no story point flows naturally because the script is always
getting in the way.
Cruise has got to be the most unprofessional hitman in the history of movie
hitmen. I buy that he'd kill anyone who gets in the way (he's mighty quick
with that gun, after all), but he makes as much of a mess as De Niro and
company do in the bank robbery scene in Mann's wonderful 'Heat'. Vincent
survives a nightclub bloodbath that he creates and breaches every code of
conduct in the hitman guidebook (which should be available for purchase on
Amazon.com in 2008). First of all, there's no way he would let Max live so
long. The cabbie tries to escape once or twice, which is a definite no-no.
He gets directly involved in Vincent's business, yet doesn't get bulleted
for it. Sure, the actors get to savour some quiet moments and they even try
to mess with each other during a psychological analysis late in the picture.
I just didn't believe a killer would put up with the uncooperative hack all
night long. If he's such a problem, grease 'im.
Jada Pinkett Smith and Mark Ruffalo are about the only other actors who
register. Mrs. Big Willie is Annie, an attorney working on a huge case.
She's lovely in an opening tete a tete with Foxx. Their chemistry is even
better than the Cruise/Foxx formula. When she leaves that cab, I was wishing
she'd get back in. To hell with this assassination story. Let's see what
sexy trouble Max & Annie could get into. Ruffalo, meanwhile, is a streetwise
detective who seems to have a sixth sense about what's going on---of course,
no other cop believes him---and he smartly pieces together that all the dead
bodies are connected. Still, as good an actor as Ruffalo is, his part could
have been eliminated at no major expense to the story.
Mann gives the flick a stylish edge, of course. He's always had a beautiful
sense of visual composition. His storytelling could be snappier, though.
There's probably no reason other than indulgence that this isn't about 15 or
20 minutes shorter. The two-hour movie would have been more impactful if
directed by a pulp great like Samuel Fuller, who would have accomplished the
same thing (probably more) in about 90 minutes. There's not as much suspense
as there could be. If Vincent was played by a more naturally menacing actor,
the threat of sudden savagery might be more bona fide. As it is, the film
just paces along as the cab diligently makes its way through the L.A. night
to its underwhelming conclusion. Everybody is trying their best to make this
movie a thrilling experience. Perhaps they tried too hard...
The whole concept of "collateral" is not fully explored. However, Mann is a
smart enough director to let us fill in some blanks. It's not a subtle point
that by the time the major players have met in a dark office building, the
story has come full circle. You might even say to yourself, "hey, this is
where we came in". The climax is pure slasher flick with Cruise as Michael
Myers or some such unstoppable machine. If the story sucks you in, you'll
probably wonder what I'm complaining about. Think about this,
though---there's no logical reason that Vincent's last target should BE a
target.
It's a close call, but 'Collateral' just isn't worthy of a recommendation.
Mann, Cruise, and Foxx hit most of the right notes, but Beattie the scribe
surely does not. Or maybe Mann directed a good script into the ground. In
either case, Beattie is content to litter the road with a deus ex machina
every 20 minutes or so, which is one of the laziest things a writer can do.
You'd think controlling filmmakers like Mann & Cruise would have demanded
one more rewrite to iron out the "oh, come on" moments. No doubt, they
should have hit the floor and prayed for divine aid to tighten up the saggy
screenplay. After all, what's the harm in wishing for one more act of God to
get out of a big hole the screenwriter has put you in?
To put out a hit on me, write to flicke...@hotmail.com
Assassinate my website at http://groups.msn.com/TheMovieFiend
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