Nice film, shame about the 3rd act

Rating: Null/10 (16 September 2004)

About 12 or 15 minutes in came a shot which really makes the case for me for big screen viewing vs. home cinema. Which is ironic really, since large stretches of Collateral were shot on video. The cab, shot from outside, cruises past some downtown Los Angeles tower blocks, and from the third row in the theatre it really was just like being there.
No way that sense of scale will ever translate to a TV screen.
I really enjoyed the first two thirds of this film. The night time setting, the acting, the interleaved story threads as the cops pick up on Max the cab drivers nightmare, are all great.
Sadly, from the moment the shootout at the Fever nightclub starts, everything goes downhill. Hit-man Vincent has to this point been plausibly effective, but suddenly becomes the Terminator. He kills with hands, feet, a penknife, and of course guns .... lots of guns. He can't miss, but at the same time he's a ghost that no-one else's bullets can touch. An intelligent and tightly plotted story unravels in a clunky chase and rescue that blows away all the hard won early credibility. Suddenly, in the limited space of an empty office or subway, Vincent couldn't hit the side of a barn.