Collateral (2004) Director: Michael Mann
“Millions of galaxies of hundreds of millions of stars, in a speck on one in a blink. That’s us, lost in space. The cop, you, me… Who notices?”
Collateral is an intriguing espionage thriller and character-driven drama –unique in our 21st century cinematic landscape—which features an ordinary man caught up in a wild criminal underworld world of double-crossings and assassinations. But despite boasting a compelling premise, this film failed to land in my view. Jaime Foxx plays Max Durocher, a friendly evening cab driver in Los Angeles who dreams of escapism and starting his own limousine company. One night, he gives a ride to a beautiful woman, a federal prosecutor named Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith) who winds up giving Max her phone number. The night seems to be off to a great start until he picks up his next ride –a mysterious, grey-haired, suit-wearing Vince (Tom Cruise) who turns out to be a vicious, cold-blooded assassin.
Vincent forces Max to shuttle him around for the evening, from back-alley apartment complexes to hazy night clubs, and throughout the night we learn more about both men –where their moral compass lies, how they were raised, and what lengths they will go to preserve this charade. Contrasting the two men, Max is a passive cab driver who still has hopes and dreams, while Vincent is a misanthrope Very quickly, it becomes clear that Max cannot go to the police because if he does more people will die. One by one, targets are killed on Vincent’s list while he remains largely invisible behind-the-scenes and it becomes clear that Max will be framed and forced to face the brunt of the legal scrutiny for this murderous spree. Meanwhile, the LAPD is tracking him down with one lone officer, Ray Fanning (Mark Ruffalo), believes Max is an innocent victim in this situation.
At various points, Max tries to escape from Vincent –when tied to the cab steering wheel, he honks his horn and flashes his lights which draws the attention of some thieves, but they are quickly murdered by Vincent. Later, Max steals Vincent’s briefcase and tosses his carefully organized research out into the trash-ridden streets of Los Angeles. Without his briefcase, Vincent is without his target list, thus he compels Max to go undercover as “Vincent” and retrieve a computer drive with the rest of his hit list (this scene features Javier Bardem). As the film comes to a close, a string of extraordinary coincidences leads Max to discover that the final name on Vincent’s list is none other than Annie. Suddenly, Max becomes a hero as he and Annie flee from Vincent aboard the metro where a shootout occurs, and the film ends on a bit of a cliche as Vincent dies in the very same situation he pondered at the start of the film:
“A guy gets on the MTA here L.A. and dies. Think anybody’ll notice?”
While I was initially swept up in this movie and its dark, shadowy noir-esque world, by the end a trail of convenient contrivances led me to lose a bit of faith in the script. A few of my questions include: Why doesn’t Vincent kill Annie at the beginning of the movie when he walks right past her? Why doesn’t Vincent simply use a computer drive from the start in order to track his hit list? Why carry a briefcase with paperwork at all? And are we really led to believe that Max just so happens to spot Annie’s name on Vincent’s computer? And the final name on his hit list is none other than Annie, the woman from the start of the film? And this leads to a phone call between Max and Annie which allows Vincent to spot a busy line on the phone? And in a tense moment of confrontation, Max decides to shoot and merely wound Vincent, rather than killing him? And when Max and Annie run away through the lower depths of the building to the metro station, taking numerous twists and turns, Vincent is somehow able to follow their exact path? And then he boards the correct train flawlessly by happenstance? And this is followed by a face-to-face shoot-out in which Max, a cab driver, is somehow proven to be a better marksman than an expert assassin? And Vincent dies as the film ends before we are given. Any resolution to this wild ride? Unfortunately, Collateral fell apart in the final act for me. In my view, The Last of the Mohicans (1992) is still my favorite Michael Mann film.
Your criticisms of Collateral are indeed food for thought. For a chance to enjoy Tom Cruise playing the villain, and Jamie Foxx’s Oscar-nodded performance the same year he was an Oscar for Ray, its most rewarding potential at the time was undeniable. But it’s agreeably easier to see how some of its intended realism might not unfold all that well. Still a relatively enjoyable thriller and with the kind of ending to make us think about our cinematic villains and heroes in a most particular light. Thank you for your review.