Hero, Hit Man, or just your ordinary Joe making a living?

Rating: Null/10 (8 August 2004)

What happens when a hero plays a hit man? Persuasion, but not belief, that Tom Cruise (Vincent) could possibly be born from the killer's mold, at least not in 'Collateral,' at least not from just departing from his huge previous role, as Nathan Allgren, in 'The Last Samurai.' If anything Tom remains the hero, even as the villain, since he executes his acting assignment, with his die hard passion and professionalism. Regardless of these two strengths, I am never believing Tom, as Vincent, to be so evil, as he is directed to be. Yet, undoubtedly Tom makes the most of this character, carrying the role as far as he possibly can, within the designed framework presented.
With unfortunate holes and fragments in the script, Tom's jump from 'The Last Samurai,' to 'Collateral,' is too Olympic for me to believe him, as the completely uninhibited hit-man, Vincent. Yet, it still does not mean that this film does not possess solid attributes. What I did experience in this film was a sense of commitment from every actor to carry out his role, with duty, unity, and a seasoned maturity.
In the film, Tom plays a somewhat sallow and gaunt faced L.A. hit man, whose job it is to kill off a prosecutor's list of crooked witnesses, involved in the illegal drug dealing business. Jada Pinkett Smith plays Annie, the smart and probably I imagine typically overworked prosecutor. She is the first person to ride in Max's (Jamie Foxx) taxi. She and Max exchange typical life conversation. At the end of the ride, he gives her his treasured island post card, and she, in turn, gives him her business card, with a gesture of gratitude.
Meanwhile, in just a moment, Vincent steps from inside of the airport, to any cab outside along the curb. He randomly chooses Max's cab. Likewise, Max and Vincent make small talk. At this moment, the actors are in full swing with their roles. The conversation sounds so unscripted, that I am wondering at times if it is, at times. Vincent tells Max that he is having to make several stops, collecting signatures for some sort of real estate transactions. I thought it humorous that Vincent, Anne, and Max knew every inch to streets and directions around L.A., that it became an exaggerated after thought of mine.
From this point forward, Vincent forces Max to be his assistant, in executing the completely emotionless killings, like simply pulling weeds from the lawn. They make various shooting stops, including a Jazz bar and a Japanese style dance club. Mark Ruffalo, as the ever skeptical Detective Fanning, is assigned to solving the string of murders and soon has to work with alleged Federal Agent, Pedrosa (Bruce McGill) and crew. This scene moves so fast that I am not completely sure if Pedros is really working for the FBI or really for Felix, Vincent's client. When Max has to confront Vincent's client, the story begins to unravel for two reasons. First, the script begins to reveal too many unwanted holes. For example, we gain little knowledge into understanding Vincent's client Felix (Javier Barden) and the hit list of witnesses. Obviously, too many details may detract from the larger story, but too few details falls short of supporting a credible story line and cast of characters. Also, too many supporting cast members are just immediately tossed into scenes without more consideration to feature film length form of development. In a completely developed script, the viewer should not have to be needing more plot information to identify with the chain of events set before them. Secondly, a solid fast paced film will always reiterate some key plot facts to its audience, knowing that they may miss a piece of elemental information, among all of the action and activity. This concept particularly applies to murder, mystery, and action films.
Mark Ruffalo plays with all of his eerie and far at sea-like sensibility, but like many in the film, at moments, I feel an underlying sense of the actors' conflict between wanting to deliver their lines and having to deliver them. I, myself, on many occasions have been pinned down to take jobs, with logical reluctance. But, at this point, I know it to be just a fact of living life. Regardless of how everyone 'gets the job,' everyone involved acts with total commitment to performing. The script is not what makes all of these humans hero's, rather it is their adapt willingness to play out the roles, as directed.
Out of all the scenes, the duality unfolding in the Japanese style club was most unique. In my college and early post college days, I walked through that scene more than I like to have to admit. I wonder if Tom was thinking and feeling what I once was, in the days trying to convince myself, that I could actually socialize, in smoky bars and new wave/age dance halls/clubs, like the majority of the people. Every place was so crowded and loud, as my eyes were only searching for some imaginary someone, to share my quietness, peace, and space. Repeatedly, I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and so was Vincent. Yet, when Tom pulls out his back on the floor gun maneuver, I responded like a teenage boy, thinking to myself, cool, wow, only in the movies, and his rock solid actions instantaneously shift the mood. I have to remind myself that he is the villain, in this role, but also an actor who truly has command, reflex, and skill to completely shift the scales of extreme, in this scene
Whether or not you like this script and story line, you will not be disappointed in the depth, commitment, and common unity each actor willingly offers to portraying his role.