Q: Are there two versions of Collateral? with movie review and comparison

Rating: 10/10 (16 December 2004)

The Question: I just bought the Collateral DVD and saw a film that was very different from the one I saw in the theater. Reading the board comments causes me to ask: "Am I the only one, besides the other people in that theater on that day at that time, who saw that version of the movie?"
The Review(s?): I thought both versions were really good, the DVD version seemed a little more tame but the acting and final message of both films were excellent. The characters, combat sequences, car wreck, emotional trauma, physical trauma, and cinematography all seemed very real (A Mann trademark). The more common of the Collateral movies that I just saw had a Hollywood feel to it, the music might have been something to improve on but it fit the story (The music from Bourne Identity was a plus). The nonDVD Collateral: had no soundtrack other than Max's cab radio, nothing to suggest what you should be feeling as you watched (although that was back on Aug 6th, my memory could be failing...); The fight sequences, actors (other than leading roles), were all different. Vincent was more of a casual killer and Max was less of a hero. The comparison between the two, nonDVD Collateral wins the high impact award while DVD Collateral wins the drama award. Each film seemed to have something useful to say. To compare it to Bourne Identity (have not seen Bourne Supremacy), sort of like the beginning where the girl feels she might have picked up a psycho in her car, multiply the effect by 10 or 20, throughout Collateral, and you have an idea of what the film feels like.
As I watched, I attempted to fit what I saw in the theater to the DVD and could not do it, sort of a Twilight Zone effect...