Best action thriller this summer so far

Rating: Null/10 (14 August 2004)

spoilers
Of the three recently released Hollywood summer pitches that can be loosely described by the general genre of 'action/thriller'  Collateral, Manchurian Candidate, Bourne Supremacy (the last two haven't come to town yet)  Collateral is by far the best. Each has its own connection. While Manchurian is a remake, and Bourne Supremacy a sequel, Collateral has less of a baggage to carry, except for some remote references to other movies 'starring' a taxi.
The problem with the other two movies is in trying to do too much. The attempts at purportedly convoluted plots often fall flat. If I really want that sort of stuff, I'll watch Gosford Park. By trying to give the audience a suspense-action-thriller, the makers of these two movies lost their focus, ending up neither here nor there. (Sorry, I forgot about the books, but things that work for books do not necessarily work for the screen).
Collateral has the beauty of simplicity, a linear development of events in just about real time. Without the distraction of following pseudo-clever plots, the audience is left to freely ENJOY the movie. Such enjoyment includes that of the wonderful scene with Max's mother in the hospital. The familiar scene of a mother talking about the kid as if he is transparent but with a wicked little twist that the 'kid' is now a 6-foot guy (ok, five-foot-ten if you are particularly about it) is simply delightful.
TC is one cool customer. Denzel Washington got his Oscar by playing a bad guy. Collateral is not of the stuff with Oscars potentials but it's a start. Got for it, Tom! Jamie Foxx is actually the best actor in this movie, while Mark Ruffalo is a little wasted (you can be a cop here, and you can be a cop in In The Cut, but there's a big difference). And the movie is not hurt at all by having one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, Jada Pinkette Smith. The fierce beauty in the last two of the Matrix trilogy is now replaced by a sophisticated genteel charm which is equally captivating.
Sometimes, I go to a movie just to be entertained, and how enormously entertained was I by Collateral! And this is no mindless entertainment. The depiction of the killer, while not deep, is complex enough to be captivating.