Collateral (2004) Review

Collateral (2004) 

Collateral follows Max, a cab driver, who, after picking up a strange passenger named Vincent, soon realizes that he is using Max to shuttle him from hit to hit, stringing him along a murder spree that spans all across LA. 

Out of all the Tom Cruise films I’ve watched lately (there’s been a lot), Collateral is no question the one I was most intrigued to see, as it marks one of the few times the actor has taken on a truly villainous role, while allowing Michael Mann to dive back into the type of movies he does best. And while I expected some intense and very accurate action (and boy did it deliver), what really sold this for me was a combination of the script and the way Cruise and Foxx interpreted it. Max represents the every man, slaving away at a job, dreaming for something better, appreciating the sanctity of human life with its inevitable ups and downs. Vincent however is very much his opposite—hardened by something in his past to give him a general disdain for human life who will manipulate, hurt, or kill whoever he needs to to get what he wants. 

Their chance encounter though invites perspective for both men, forcing Max to a point of realization about his life while Vincent is left softened and visibly caring about someone for once, a moment of weakness that I credit to his eventual demise. And a serious credit to both men’s performances, just like in Heat, you strangely want them both to succeed, Max for obvious reasons but Vincent for reasons somewhat deeper, as if his life could possibly alter trajectories after this into something better if his final hit hadn’t been Annie. 

We get a stellar cast as well, starring Javier Bardem, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Mark Ruffalo, Jada Pinkett Smith, Jamie Foxx, and Tom Cruise. What makes Cruise’s turn as Vincent so eerie is that, if we’re being honest, it doesn’t seem like he’s acting. His cold, sociopathic tendencies and the way he breaks Max down on every conceivable level, it’s scary how real it feels, especially in the performance it brings out of Foxx, who tiptoes the line between harmless and mental adversary so well in this. 

Collateral, directed by Michael Mann, is a true testament to how a great script and interesting leads can make all the difference, where even a simple cab ride could carry the film for its entire runtime, let alone the action Mann expertly throws in to always keep the stakes high. 

8.7/10