Great Ride Any Time of Day

Rating: 8/10 (4 November 2004)

Unique should be the operative concept when describing this movie, although superficially there's very little ambitious about it. An assassin hired by vague mob moguls gets in an LA taxi driven by one of tinseltown's savviest, most well-informed cabbies. The two soon bond overnight, despite the former's penchant for whacking total strangers and the latter's desperate desire to see the sun again. Sounds trite, but you'd be badly mistaken should you opt to refrain from seeing Michael Mann's latest, a project steeped in quality and cachet, if not originality. Its uniqueness stems from a seamless flow of storytelling prowess, unhindered by obstructions that would have easily toppled less intensely-conceived products.
First of all, both main actors provide solid appearances. Cruise's obsessively-driven hit-man garners viewer sympathy by being honest, courteous, and downright Terminator-esque professional. His reluctant chauffeur for the night, Max, witnesses Jamie Foxx in his first non-irritating screen part, and allows the actor space to develop. Instead of his pro-forma comical buffoonery, Foxx deploys some serious skill while portraying a genuinely decent person stuck behind the wheel of a Crown Vic while dreaming of another life.
Brought together by sheer chance, Vincent the killer and Max traverse Los Angeles in a great homage to the city of angels, paying tribute to its streets and uneasy nights. From assignment to assignment, they get to know each other through hardship and camaraderie, even though Max does, on occasion, err by trying to escape. You can't help but wish he'd stay in the car already and just drive Cruise to wherever death needs to be dealt, for Vincent's smooth demeanor certainly wins him top flight recognition. His acumen can't be argued with, most vividly depicted via frequently dispatching various nocturnal types, from drug dealers through hoodlums, to venerable jazz musicians. Collateral doesn't pull too many punches, incorporating a sizeable number of well-orchestrated bullet festivities and dialogues colorful enough to be believable.
All along, we get treated to convincing conversations, a superb soundtrack, and an oddly 70's feel emanating from the film's cool, almost impersonal treatment of an otherwise very human predicament. Several side-plots arrive for good measure, namely a police task force homing in on the aberrant taxi, spearheaded by Detective Fanning (Mark Ruffalo), and an ultimately disappointing love interest for Max, done by impressive Jada Pinkett-Smith (who was great in the last two Matrix pictures).
While ending-wise Collateral may leave more than a bit to desire, pretty much everything else comes together nicely, doing good justice to a simple but memorable tale in a modestly qualified manner not often seen around hedonistic Hollywood.
Rating * * *1/2