A Quiet Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (17 October 2007)

Another Michael Mann picture, another masterpiece. After watching this film and if you are a Michael Mann fan particularly, you will love this film. This film is related to Mann's previous and best masterpiece 'Heat'. In this film, you have two actors who basically meet at the wrong place, wrong time, and are then in the film together throughout. The acting is second to none due to both of the leading actors and that's typical Michael Mann, because he never picks a wrong screening pair in any of his films, just look at The Insider, Heat, Miami Vice, Manhunter.
I would like to add mainly in this comment about the performance from Tom Cruise who was nothing more than 'outstanding' and personally his best film, no-one would have predicted him to pull off a bad guy role because his acting roles have been mainly good guys. But Tom Cruise in his role excels because its a completely different role for something that he wanted to challenge and be known as a versatile actor, and should have deserved an Oscar nomination. Cruise is simply cool with the shades and suit that he wears in the film and the way he picks off his victims, and also frightening towards the end of the film which when you watch would never predict from Tom Cruise.
Lets not forget that without Jamie Fox in this film Tom Cruise wouldn't have pulled it off because he is also excellent as he plays a typical good guy character trying to stop Cruise at all costs and this is why he deserves his Oscar nomination. The chemistry between the pair is excellent throughout the film when they either argue to each other are in normal conversation, its like watching two guys who are actually friends. This is what you don't see in Heat, you had two of the greatest actors of all time with Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, they were both only in two sequences in the film and although both sequences are hair-raising you wanted more, and this is what you see in Collateral.
The cinematography and camera work is excellent, the scenery and score as always from Mann breathtaking and which i adored just as much in Heat. The action sequences are so realistic, clever and breathtaking its as though you are actually watching something real. The gun's that are used in this film, Heat and Miami vice are the same and what makes it sound like a 'Beirut' attack with the sound effects used. This is what makes Michael Mann such a well accomplished director of his generation and is up their with the likes of Steven Spielberg and James Cameron.
Towards the end of the film, the final sequence is so similar to what was in Heat between Al Pacino and Robert De Niro because it turns into a cat and mouse chase sequence and deciding on who's faith lies between the characters of Vincent and Max, and it actually makes you sympathise with Vincent's role as he is trying to do his job but actually has a human connection, like it was for Neil McCauley's character in Heat. And when the film ends its actually quite a mixed emotional moment.
This is why it is such a great film and deserves to be a ten out of ten classic!