More holes than a pound of swiss cheese

Rating: 5/10 (2 February 2005)

Collateral has a good plot and uniformly fine performances, particularly by Tom Cruise as Vincent, a cold as an iceberg assassin. As we move through the evening with Vincent dispatching bodies around LA,being driven by Max,an unlucky cab driver, played compassionately by Jamie Foxx, this thriller becomes annoying as the plot holes get exposed. Why would the skilled Vincent continue to ride around in a cab with a dented roof and smashed windshield (already stopped once by cops because of the defects,)with cars and helicoptors on his tail? Max has almost unlimited opportunities to escape or warn the police but takes none of them. Indeed even in the final subway scene with shots abounding and passengers agape,nary a cop or even a siren appears at the various stops.Putting aside the incredible coincidence of Max separately picking up the killer and one of his intended victims during his shift in a city with a fair number taxicabs on the streets, can anyone not foresee who the 5th and last victim is to be? In sum, a potentially clever plot but too many unrealistic lapses reduces this film to just a bloody night in LA.