Michael Mann directed this film about a soft-spoken cabbie named Max (Jamie Foxx) who dreams of his own limo service when he picks up the wrong fare: a hitman (Tom Cruise). The two of them take a tour of LA as Cruise picks off his list of required hits.
While the premise of the movie sounds very ordinary and perhaps predictable, the movie thrives off of the interaction of Cruise and Foxx, jerky hand-held camera movements, and realistic lighting. LA almost becomes one of the characters in this movie, since the setting and atmosphere is what helps sell this film and engross the viewer.
What I was really surprised at was the tasteful use of violence and cursing. I personally was expecting a fowl-mouthed gore-fest considering the plot about the murderous Vincent. But we rarely see his "work," only at the dance club do we see why Vincent's the best in his business. There is some cursing but it seems to be used at right time.
The only thing more daring for Cruise to be the "bad guy" in the film was to dye his hair gray. But Cruise does a good job, transforming his pretty-boy image into that of the savage hitman. Through his talks with Max, we learn a little about Vincent's past but not a lot. Foxx, on the other hand, is stuck with a more typical quiet-working-man-who-gains-a-backbone-to-fight-back character.
The only real flaw with the movie is of the last ten minutes or so on the subway. There, you can find some movie cliches as Max moves from car to car to escape from Vincent.
But overall, with great acting and superb atmosphere, Collateral is definately worth your time.
1 comment:
Sounds interesting. I like how Cruise has lately tried roles that seem different than his normal "show me the money" roles. I really liked the Last Samurai, but this seems like an interesting character sketch type movie too. Glad that it wasn't a "fowl-mouthed gore-fest." That rarely makes for an interesting movie.
Post a Comment