Masterpiece? No, but very good.

Rating: 8/10 (27 December 2005)

Collateral works much like Mann's "Heat" but on a much smaller scale, which is both bad and good as "Heat" sometimes sprawled a bit too wide for its own good at times. The story of a taxi driver held hostage for a hit-man to do a nightly shift of killing is very inventive and Mann's stylistics make good use of the LA locale.
Like "Heat," Collateral works like an episode of Miami Vice with lots of cops and robbers and pastel neon lights. Ambiance is the key here with acting that works for sure. The heavy use of DV has both its ups and downs. The digital texture works when there is enough light on the subject and good white balance correction like the Jazz club hit and the Asian dance club toward the end. Some of the night scenes DO NOT work with an abundance of ISO noise and pixelation. The interlacing of video is obvious and very distracting in one scene in particular, when Cruise trips on the chair in the Law high rise.
The pace of the film works for the most part with a few small dry spots. In the end, I thin Collateral works very very well on the typical Michael Mann levels of entertainment. And though I completely disagree calling this film a Masterpiece, as some have suggested, I think Collateral is a very well made and entertaining character drama that in the end lacks a larger dramatic weight felt from Mann's earlier works.