To drive or not to drive, that's your life-death decision.

Rating: Null/10 (10 August 2004)

Never a fan of Tom Cruise. If it were not the complimentary ticket, he would not have had that much right to have occupied my sight for about 120 minutes inside a confined dim building called cinema.
Americans love hero, they are constantly looking for hero, even the one-minute hero or hero only to one woman named Annie. Max (Jamie Foxx) is a good representation: an ordinary taxi driver having an American dream to get rich, to have his own limousine business but in reality he only has been loyally and responsibly driving taxi for twelve years in LA. JF has done a great job, TC's brightness does not cover his. It's not collateral but equal, they are depending on each other just like the characters in the story itself. Neither of them is able to make the movie shine if stand-alone. TC is forever Tom Cruise who gives us his 'signature' performance again. In China, we have Wen Jiang and in Hollywood TC, too much conceit. They are acting themselves but not 100% the role of the story. In actuality, Vincent can be starred by any good actor, TC though has given his best, the limited character development and the weak plot do not help to harness his thespian talent. Another supporting Mark Ruffalo somehow acts well here in his own style.
Max the taxi driver should give thanks to the professional, Vincent. The former keeps dreaming in his own world but cannot make it true in reality. His apparent misfortune somehow catalyses his courage, pushes him to grow into maturity, besides, he starts to know what love (with Jada Pinkett Smith) is like. He is the young David in the Bible story of David and Goliath (TC). Never underestimate frailty, its power can be mind-bogglingly destructive.
The most impressive episode to me is when TC got the jazz musician Barry Shabaka Henley finished. Tension raises to mountain high and these several minutes wrenches viewers' heart, locks our attention and eyes wishing that Henley would be let go. The seemingly friendly and relaxed chat abruptly turns out to be a death threat, pearl-like sweat drops sprout out above Henley's upper lip. The most unreasonable plot should be the one of shooting Inmo Yuon inside Fever Club. TC got many chances to get him done much faster. What was Michael Mann waiting for? TC's wondrous kicks? His kicks or attacks are too slow! Consult Jet Li or Jackie Chan! Many Hong Kong stunts in hundreds and thousands action films attack much faster if given that much time. Yet, that's entertaining to viewers because the slowness makes TC look ridiculous. By the way, John Woo should clap his hands because the killers and gun-men again shoot with two guns in both hands concurrently, this act is his signature.
Javier Bardem gives a delightful and unexpected appearance to me. His very last movie to me was Pedro Almodóvar's 'Carne trémula'. I got no clue why so many Spanish film workers desire the taste of Hollywood. Can't they see Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz are not enjoying high popularity? PA perhaps rubs his Oscar clean every day but he's a director, not an actor. Look, once TC dumped PC, we don't have much of her news on showbiz or paparazzi or gossip column headlines. I guess JB is waiting for a role, a story that he can gain fame, popularity, money and power. Investors beware!
Hollywood may not be the cup of tea for every well-known bright shining stars in their own hometowns. Another atrocious trick of Hollywood: the Spanish speaking (Hispanic) personage speak Latin American Spanish but not Castilian of Spain. JB has to learn the accent, the first one is the Mexican one. Bless him!
The aerial scenes from the sky are stunningly grand. Concerning cinematography, seeing the scene shots with HDTV (1080p/24), I wonder how many directors are bewitched by it. Derek Wan for sure is one. However, not every movie is suitable to be filmed by HD24 or v-cam. Some v-cam-filmed shots here are (randomly?) inserted at different points along the running. I feel annoyed because those shots don't create a more appropriate atmosphere, on the contrary, the anticipated tension or shock is diminished because of the HD24, the TV ambiance too heavy and it makes a movie doing the job of a TV film.
Music sounds to be crucial and amusing in the film, yet the 'no-music' episodes are also powerful. When the two men both clear the dead body falling from above, there is no music. It makes viewers feel that they are at the crime scene in person witnessing the whole darkness, so close, so real. And it's interesting to see the credits comes only at the end but none at the beginning.
The story can take place in any big and indifferent city. The entire atmosphere of LA is so familiar to me,. I can picture a red Hong Kong downtown cab (LA cabs are red plus yellow, as I see from the movie) being kidnapped in Kowloon by passengers who have just raided and robbed a branch of HSBC. Man-chat To is the good o' poor Max while any deadpan actor can play Vincent.
Though the public vehicle is used in both films, Luc Besson's taxi series is about speed whereas Michael Mann's Collateral is about self-actualization and growth. TC offers fuel to JF's accelerating maturity as the tyres of the cab keep on rolling on the tarred roads of LA, rushing to kill. And unconsciously and ironically TC has burnt up all his nutrients for JF's rising against himself. Someone needs to pay for a person's growth, no matter how big or small.