an artsy action movie

Rating: 9/10 (6 March 2005)

This truly is an artsy action movie, and that is not an oxymoron. When Michael Mann makes movies, his vision is something so much more vivid and complete than other directions. The amount of location scouting and imagination that Mann puts into this movie is readily evident.
This movie is not an action that is concerned with flashy action sequences or big explosions. In fact, there is maybe a total of 15 minutes of action sequences in this movie. These were very technical action sequences but not in the traditional way. Tom Cruise spent three months with a former British SAS specialist to make sure that his combat techniques were truly those of a coldblooded hit-man.
Most noteworthy to me is not the characters in this movie, although they were very well developed and Cruise and Foxx both deserve Oscars. Also, I don't believe the plot was a central point of this film.
What was central was the feeling and atmosphere of this film. The aura of L.A. at night and the beautifully haunting imagery. The scene with the wolves walking across the road about sums it up, that scene was pure poetry. What other kind of action movie offers this type of emotional quality. You really feel the vibe of the city. All of the work Mann put into picking locations really does pay off.
This film reminds me so very much of Blade Runner. The same city and the same type of plot. Both those details are trivial. The salient similarities are in the directive style. In Blade Runner, Ridley Scott really focused on creating a futuristic L.A. with a distinctive atmosphere. For a movie made in the 80's, the visual FX are truly amazing. There is such emotional appeal in every aspect of the futuristic L.A.
The similarity between the two movies is this. Think of any run of the mill action movie. When a movie like, say, "Bad Boys" is in transition from on scene to another, they really try and cut down the excess that is between the action sequences and the humorous scenes. BUT, in both Blade Runner and Collateral, the transitions are really the focus in a way. The driving around the city in both movies is where the vibe is really felt. In each, when the film takes you around L.A. (either the modern day L.A. in collateral, or futuristic L.A. in Blade Runner), you feel almost euphoric. It is a very serene and almost haunting type of atmosphere with such striking imagery.
The end result is this: A wonderfully crafted action movie with utmost artistic merit.