unremarkable thriller

Rating: 6/10 (26 March 2006)

Michael Mann's Collateral has a great deal of critical acclaim and hype behind it, so I was looking forward to watching it. But sadly, I was disappointed to find a very unremarkable thriller. The story really is as straightforward as you've heard: taxi driver meets hit-man, hit-man has five stops to make, and needs taxi driver to bring him to all five hit locations. The plot, I think, is the main reason why it was so hard for this film to work- it's just too linear. There are very few or no ways of pulling a plot twist, or changing the course of the plot. It was obvious Vincent would not be arrested with three hits to go etc. Compared to the best thrillers of the last ten years, Collateral appears even more average. It is not as violent as Reservoir Dogs, as complex as The Usual Suspects or as thought provoking as Fight Club. There is still some things to enjoy, however: the brilliant scene where Vincent confronts the muggers, and the nightclub shootout is good too. Foxx is fantastic as the cab driver Max and thoroughly deserved his Oscar nomination, while Cruise is also cold-hearted yet charismatic. If you like thrillers, give this a look, but don't expect anything too heavyweight.