 Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a cool, calculating contract killer at the top of his game. max (Jamie Foxx) is a cabbie with big dreams and little to show for it. Now, Max has to transport Vincent on his next job - one night, five stops, five hits and a getaway. And after this fateful night, neither man will ever be the same again. Tonight everything is changing... Storyline: LA cabbie Max Durocher is the type of person who can wax poetic about other people's lives, which impresses U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell, one of his fares, so much that she gives him her telephone number at the end of her ride. Although a dedicated man as seen through the efficiency in which he does his work, he can't or won't translate that eloquence into a better life for himself. He deludes himself into believing that his now twelve year cabbie job is temporary and that someday he will own his own limousine service. He even lies to his hospitalized mother that he already owns one, with a further lie that he tells her as such primarily to make her happy, rather than the truth which is that he won't do anything to achieve that dream. One night, Max picks up a well dressed man named Vincent, who asks Max to be his only fare for the evening. For a flat fee of $600, plus an extra $100 if he gets to the airport on time - Vincent wants Max to drive him to five stops ... Written by Huggo Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Martin Liebman, March 30, 2010 Nobody notices. He may not fall into the same grouping in which the Spielbergs, Camerons, Scorseses, and Tarantinos of the world reside, but Director Michael Mann has made one heck of a name for himself around the Hollywood landscape and is widely regarded as one of the finest Action/Drama helmsman around town, his films always exceptionally-crafted, wonderfully acted, and painstakingly real in feel. Of the three, he's perhaps best known for the attention to detail in his films, particularly in his ability to make his environments into characters and lend realism to gunfights that aren't glamorized but instead based on realistic tactics, scenarios, and training. As was the case in Heat -- the picture widely regarded as Mann's crowning achievement -- his 2004 Thriller Collateral boasts a first-class story, fantastic acting, and a sense of realism that's rarely found in Hollywood; the picture may be escapist entertainment at its core, but Mann ensures through a gritty tone and plausible scenarios that the film never drifts all that far into fantasy land and maintains a carefully-executed balance between placing the audience in the middle of a frightful night in Los Angeles and creating a tense but fun and entertaining atmosphere. It began as just another night in the life of Los Angeles cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx, Law Abiding Citizen), until he meets the beautiful young prosecutor Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith, Reign Over Me) who sees in him more than a cab driver and marvels at his politeness and big dreams to one day run his own upscale limousine service, ultimately extending a hand of friendship and the possibility of something more at the end of her ride. Max's next fare is Vincent (Tom Cruise, War of the Worlds) who offers Max several hundred dollars in exchange for taking him to five stops and, finally, to the airport to catch an early-morning flight. Max begrudgingly accepts the offer and thinks little else of it -- until a body falls from several stories and on top of his cab during Vincent's first stop. Max soon learns that Vincent is a hit man with a list of five targets that he must eliminate before the sun comes up, beginning a night of violence-ridden terror as the unassuming cabbie is forced to become part of a deadly game that he's neither mentally nor emotionally fit to handle, all the while local and federal authorities close in on him and threaten to add yet another layer of danger to an already blood-soaked night. Michael Mann's Collateral is a movie that feels as spacious as Los Angeles itself, but also seems as cramped and tight as a single taxicab. His expert direction consistently makes the audience feel like a tagalong member alongside Max and Vincent as they traverse the City of Angels in pursuit of Vincent's targets, and Mann's stunning photography of the city and his ability to precisely frame the occupants of the cab for both dramatic and realistic effect give Collateral a unique feel that positively engulfs the audience into the worlds depicted in the film. What's more, Mann -- with guidance from Stuart Beattie's (G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) excellent script -- is able to make both characters infinitely relatable, even the cold, calculated, and deadly Vincent who seems like he could be a nice guy when there's not a hit list in his briefcase and a .45 in his holster. Mann and Beattie make Vincent a hard-nosed killer but also give him a semblance of a heart and soul, but it's clear from the get-go which is the dominant trait and which is the long-since buried attribute that only manages to sneak out for a shot of decency a few times per night. Nevertheless, it's Foxx's character that becomes the de facto audience member in the film; an everyman with big dreams but -- at first, anyway -- without the fortitude and wherewithal to handle the situation into which he's thrust, Max represents the unlikely hero who, while gaining confidence and ability along the way, never becomes anything more than the sum of what he was before Vincent sat down in the backseat of his cab. Though its script is magnificent and its direction smooth, Collateral ultimately works thanks to a pair of uncanny performances from leads Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise, each of whom positively sink into their roles and lend the final push towards realism that makes the movie such a wonderful experience. Firstly, their performances are reflective of Mann's instance on lending as much depth and realism to the picture as possible; Tom Cruise, through extensive firearms training in preparation for the part, demonstrates exceptional pistol-handling and gunfighting skills throughout the film, while Jamie Foxx manages to capture a wonderful balance between a frightened everyman and an individual that ultimately chooses to fight for what he believes, his wonderful performance earning him a much-deserved Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. Beattie's script gives both characters sharp and honest dialogue; Foxx in particular handles the material marvelously, a scene featuring him thrust into posing as Vincent sees him turn on a dime between innocent and tough, part of which stems from a survival mechanism, another from his crash-course in how to cary oneself in Vincent's line of work. Foxx devours the scene and indeed the entire script, and the result is a movie that sees pitch-perfect chemistry between its lead characters, even if they're on opposite sides of the cab, the law, and more importantly, the moral compass. Not exactly an "exciting" movie but one that's certainly hard-hitting, thoughtful, wonderfully constructed, splendidly acted, and boasting a strong sense of realism, Collateral proves a high quality entry into the Michael Mann canon and one of the better films in Actor Tom Cruise's long career. For Jamie Foxx, it's another in a growing string of exceptional performances by an actor that doesn't seem to get quite the recognition he deserves but can always be counted on for a first-class performance no matter what the part calls for. Collateral is ultimately an anti-buddy movie that juxtaposes thought processes, ways of life, and moral compasses, but also suggests that man is capable of turning to the opposite end of the spectrum when need be, whether that means getting ugly when the going gets tough or buying flowers for a sickly woman in the hospital. Mann captures this dichotomy superbly and blends it into both the cramped interior of a taxi and the vast world of Los Angeles where, Vincent so simply states, "nobody notices" anything that's happening around them, good, bad, or otherwise. What is worth noticing is Paramount's superb Blu-ray release of Collateral. Boasting a wonderful 1080p transfer that's at times inherently messy but nevertheless strongly detailed and colored, a quality lossless soundtrack, and a nice selection of extras, Collateral is a catalogue title that's a worthy addition to any Blu-ray library. Highly recommended. Cast Notes: Tom Cruise (Vincent), Jamie Foxx (Max), Jada Pinkett Smith (Annie), Mark Ruffalo (Fanning), Peter Berg (Richard Weidner), Bruce McGill (Pedrosa), Irma P. Hall (Ida), Barry Shabaka Henley (Daniel), Richard T. Jones (Traffic Cop #1), Klea Scott (Fed #1), Bodhi Elfman (Young Professional Man), Debi Mazar (Young Professional Woman), Javier Bardem (Felix), Emilio Rivera (Paco), Jamie McBride (Traffic Cop #2). IMDb Rating (09/23/06): 7.7/10 from 42,526 users
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