A Fat Moving Exciting Thriller

Rating: Null/10 (23 September 2004)

My title says it all. I have always liked films starring Tom Cruise and this film is one of his best. In fact all the actors were excellent. Filmed in Los Angeles at night it added that feeling of expectation. I have driven through that city late at night and it can be scary. I can easily imagine someone like Vincent driving around. This was one of Michael Mann's best films. My wife and I saw it while on vacation in Canada when we had a few hours to spare one evening. I did not relax during the film but was kept on the edge of my seat all through the it. It was difficult to keep up with the deaths during the shoot-outs and distinguish who were the bad guys and who were the good ones, presumably the police were the latter, although at least one was bad, as they all seem to dress and speak the same. My only concern which takes nothing away from a great film is the realism which makes one almost admire the hit man Vincent - a little like the Dirty Harry character in Clint Eastwood's films so some men will see him as cult figure. Excellent films like Collateral can bring such a degree of realism to characters that some people will want to emulate them.