So much more than just a two hour action film.

Rating: 8/10 (18 April 2007)

The state in which the crime genre is in when it comes to modern day Hollywood is that of one teetering on a brink; but what that brink is, I don't exactly know. Long gone are the days of those voiced over film noirs with their sultry femme fatales trying to distract the detectives from their missions but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. You do get the odd throwback (I'm thinking Sin City) but nowadays; fast, pulsating films with recognisable Hollywood names that lighten up the screen seem to be the norm when thinking of the crime genre. In Collateral, we have a perfect example of a fast, flashy but with a relatively simplistic concept for a film all mixed up to produce an entertaining piece of film-making.
I was appalled with Miami Vice; another modern day crime film made through the conventions described above and coincidentally, another Michael Mann film but here, Mann succeeds and this is through a number of things. First, there is an atmosphere. There is an awkward, unpredictable atmosphere that sucks us in. Second, Mann actually makes good use of the film's setting. Like Miami Vice, Mann uses a colourful yet seemingly deadly mass urban utopia as the setting only this time, it's captured perfectly on screen; something he also did in Heat. Here, the setting is used well; the film isn't confined to a taxi cab for two hours and whenever the character's are outside we are allowed to breath and take in our surroundings as the action continues; whether it's on top of a sky scraper in a race against time or a foot chase over a pedestrian bridge.
What's also effective is the way the film manipulates its viewer; often, I'm sure, without them even realising. Tom Cruise plays a character called Vincent and to say he really, really sheds his skin is an understatement. Off the top pf my head, I can name the first two Mission Impossible films, Top Gun and The Colour of Money as Cruise films I can recall seeing. In Collateral, Cruise really opens up and shows us he's much more than we take him for. His character is something that not only plays games with Max (Foxx) but also with the audience. We're made to like Vincent: he's smart, he's sharp, he's just cool  too cool. What's more, he completes his first two hits without us even seeing him do it, meaning that we are not yet put off this cool cat as we haven't yet seen him kill any one. Max, on the other hand, is just playing a boring taxi driver. How are we meant to associate with him? This is clever as it turns on its head half way through and by the end, everything is completely upside down as the film has manipulated you into rooting for someone you thought was reasonably lame in comparison to this super-duper hit-man who can now be viewed as a bit of a psychopath. This is the first little clever thing Collateral does.
The second is the feeling and overall theme. For a film to have a theme is great enough on its own. Some fantastic films over the years have had themes. Pulp Fiction's was redemption, 2001: A Space Odyssey's was evolution and Collateral's, from my reading, is circulation. Everything comes around and goes around every once in a while. Now and again taxi drivers pick up the wrong fare and Vincent's story half way through (that echoes at the end) about circulation as he rides off (so to speak) leaves a taste in the mouth that isn't quite bitter but isn't exactly sweet, either.
Although with some rather ludicrous product placement very early on; Collateral is not only a popcorn-esqe thrill ride with chases and shootings; but also a more deeper, more sensual look at life as a whole. Combine this with clever film tricks and traits only good experienced directors can produce and you've got yourself a truly memorable film.