Good film betrayed by weak ending

Rating: 6/10 (7 August 2004)

Casting Tom Cruise against type isn't the only thing Collateral has going for it, but it's probably the best thing about the movie. Cruise, whom we have known over the last two decades for playing heroes of varied stripes, finally turns in his do-gooder's suit for something of a little darker stripe.
Collateral itself is a seedier film than one usually sees Cruise in, steeped in the world of criminal shadiness, drug runners, hired assassins, and the like. It's a place where Cruise should seem ill-at-ease, but his Vincent not only works organically, he's compelling enough that we want to root for him  and he is not the good guy, not by a long shot.
Jamie Foxx co-stars as a cabdriver named Max who very simply gets caught in the wrong place at the wrong time, and tries to make the best of his bad situation. While Foxx is also not the first person you would think of for a role of this sort, he inhabits Max's skin very comfortably as well; most of the film is he and Cruise playing off one another, and they do this very well.
Director Mann gives us just enough of a story to get by, and that's all you really need. Details would be meaningless in a plot like this, and so exposition is left to the wayside and largely substituted with character development; this pays off through most of the film, and as Max and Vincent get to know one another better, the dramatic ante is upped. A scene where they visit Max's mother in the hospital is particularly well-done, as is one where Max has to pretend he's Vincent in front of a crimelord. The film moves along at a brisk and engaging pace until the ending; there's a horrible plot contrivance, and it deflates the proceedings somewhat. The movie is strong up until that point, but the ending simply asks for too much suspension of disbelief, and ends up betraying the rest of the film.
But both Cruise and Foxx turn in strong performances, and the movie's worth going to see if for no other reason than to watch these two fence with one another (they reportedly got along famously on set; I think some of that camaraderie seeps into the picture, despite the fact that the two are adversaries). But Collateral is fairly solid up until the end, and showcases two pretty strong performances. Given the high caliber of other thrillers this summer, Collateral might not be able to hold its own due mostly to its weak ending; but if you have a second run theater near you, it's definitely worth checking out there.