A stylish thriller with a great script

Rating: 8/10 (15 September 2004)

Collateral features a great script, fine direction and top notch acting. Collateral has a very similar feel to some of Michael Mann's previous films, most notably Heat. Like Heat, Collateral is a crime thriller set in Los Angeles and, like Heat, the movie is stylish, both in terms of how the characters dress and also in terms of the hip musical selections.
Collateral is about an LA cab driver named Max (Jamie Foxx) who picks up a fare named Vincent (Tom Cruise). Vincent recruits Max to drive him around to 5 different locations in order to close some real estate deals, but as Max soon finds out, Vincent is really a professional assassin and the men Max is driving Vincent around to see, are actually people Vincent has been hired to kill.
This is a very smart and stylish action thriller. I features great action scenes and some very tense moments. It also features great dialogue as an unlikely relationship starts to form between Max and Vincent. Their ongoing dialogue is smart, funny and fascinating. You almost get the impression they could almost become friends in another time as The movie does have its weaknesses. You have to suspend disbelief somewhat as one of the biggest coincidences you can possibly imagine turns into a major plot point and this leads into the last 20 minutes which are more conventional and formulaic (i.e. not as good) than the rest of the movie.
Overall, Collateral is an excellent movie. With a better ending, it could have been a classic but, as it is, it's still pretty damn good. 8/10