Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours
Director. Michael Mann
Cast. Javier Bardem, Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo.
Rating. 67%
Collateral is unmistakably a Michael Mann film. A supremely stylish thriller which sadly falls significantly short of the director's tour de force, Heat. Nor does Collateral measure up with the raw energy of Manhunter.
Nonetheless, Collateral is cool. Uber cool.
Jamie Foxx stars as taxi cab driver, Max Durocher, but make no mistake Collateral is Tom Cruise's vehicle. He delivers a stand-out performance - and very much against type - as the ruthless and sadistic hitman, Vincent. Cruise's character still manages to charm, perhaps even seduce, no matter how abhorrent his actions are. The wafer-thin difference between good and bad is a recurring theme in Michael Mann's filmography. Often principal characters are depicted as two sides of the same coin and the director exploits this viewpoint to challenge the audience's loyalty towards characters.
Collateral revels in showcasing the seedier side of Los Angeles, a side that normally would not be explored on screen. But the deserted streets softly depicted in a green-tinted graininess create the haunted glow of a ghost town.
Heat's iconic centrepiece shoot-out through the streets of Los Angeles may well be one of the best action sequences of all time, and there is nothing to rival this in Collateral. In Collateral, Mann favours quality over quantity, with one particularly stylish and well-choreographed gun battle in a busy nightclub.
Where Collateral primarily falls down is that the series of exchanges between Max and Vincent, whilst engrossing, often require a huge amount of suspension of disbelief. In addition, whilst the closing line and final images are well handled, the preceding action is overwhelmingly disappointing.
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