Why? What are you going to do about it?

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2010)

Collateral is directed by Michael Mann and stars Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. It's written by Stuart Beattie, scored by James Newton Howard and the cinematographer is Dion Beebe. It's set in Los Angeles, California and takes place on the night of January 24 to 25, 2004 from 6:30 PM to 5:40 AM.
Max (Foxx) is in a job rut as a taxi driver, he constantly dreams of a better life. Tonight his life will change when he picks up the smartly attired Vincent (Cruise), who is in town for one night, an assassin with five stops to make.
By the time of Collateral's release, Michael Mann had firmly established himself as a purveyor of slow burn intensity with the likes of Heat & The Insider. Collateral is no different. In what is essentially a two hander featuring two polar opposite characters sharing the same space, the film is like a tightly coiled spring just waiting to explode. Though the original casting for Vincent and Max was to be Russell Crowe and Adam Sandler respectively, the final casting turns out to be a master stroke. Pitting one of the biggest stars in the world against a young comedian turned actor makes the story ooze credibility. While simultaneously it provides the buddy buddy genre with one of its oddest, yet most rewarding, couplings. But as good as both actors are (Cruise trademarks as he lets Foxx thrive), this really is about its talented director.
Shooting it on digital video (using the Viper FilmStream High-Definition Camera to be exact), Mann instills a colourful noir essence to his shady story. Be it the LA skyline or shots of road crossing coyotes, the low light colouring effects cloak the story with a bleakly atmospheric sheen. Particularly in relation to Vincent, where he may be smart and well spoken, the utter professional in fact, but he is icy cold, and Mann & Beattie frame him just right. The writing, too, is smart. There is no need to enter into psychological realms of the Vincent make up, it's purposely left alone, why he does what he does is not known. He throws a curve ball statement or two, but do you believe him? Does Max? It's all as grey as Cruise's hair is for the film (looking like a chilly Richard Gere actually) and it makes for better rewards when the finale arrives.
There's also the other things that have become Mann trademarks, that of his astute musical cues and action set piece constructions. Here he again does not disappoint with a night club gun battle sequence that's as consummate as it gets. He's also aware that the film has to get out of the cab, in spite of it metronomically working so well, at some point to drive the narrative forward. This is where the minor players play big parts! Mark Ruffalo and Peter Berg's coppers, Bruce McGill's FBIer and Javier Bardem's gangster type, all serve to flesh the story and further the characterisation of assassin and chauffeur. There's a slight misstep in the finale with a coincidence that is not befitting such a meticulous director. But if we have learned one thing from Michael Mann, it's that he is not lazy, so an error of judgement is on this occasion easily forgiven.
One of the best film's of 2004 from one of the modern eras finest auteur directors. 9/10