Collateral (2004)

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Directed by Michael Mann.

Starring Peter Berg, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Tom Cruise, Mark Ruffalo.

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A taxi driver is unexpectedly taken on the ride of his life in this stylish thriller from acclaimed director Michael Mann. Max (Jamie Foxx) is a cab driver who hopes to some day open his own limo company; one night behind the wheel begins promisingly when he picks up Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), an attorney working with the federal government who is attractive, friendly, and gives him her business card after paying her fare. Max thinks his luck is getting even better when his next fare, Vincent (Tom Cruise), offers him several hundred dollars in cash if he'll be willing to drop him off, wait, and pick him up at five different spots over the course of the evening. Max agrees, but he soon realizes Vincent isn't just another guy with errands to run -- Vincent is an assassin who has been paid to murder five people who could put the leaders of a powerful drug trafficking ring behind bars in an upcoming trial. As circumstances force Max to do Vincent's bidding, the cabbie has to find a way to prevent Vincent from killing again and save his own skin, a task that becomes especially crucial when he discovers Annie is one of the names on Vincent's hit list. Collateral also stars Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, and Bruce McGill as police detectives hot on Vincent's trail. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

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Reviews and discussions

Review: Collateral
by MSWallack in MSWallack Blog

liked it.

Was this review helpful? [Be the first to tell us!]
"I enjoyed Collateral, but did not find it to be as great a movie as some have suggested. I thought that both Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx were outstanding. The best thing that I can say about Cruise's performance is that I didn't watch the film and find myself thinking, "Gee, isn't Tom Cruise doing a great job at playing a bad guy?" The story surprised me sufficiently to keep me entertained. Also, much like Phone Booth, this movie did a good job of getting around my preconceived problems with what the story would be (e.g., how can I stay interested in a story that takes place, mostly, in a taxi cab?). As usual, Michael Mann's stylish directorial style adds to the overall impression and "feel" of the film. " [More]

Collateral
by MovieBabe in MovieBabe Blog

hasn't rated it.

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"By Tricia Olszewski The first two-thirds of Collateral is leisurely enough to allow you to consider the little things—such as why the hell Tom Cruise’s head is a Brillo pad of grandma gray. And why the outfit he’s wearing as Vincent, “badass sociopath”—a shirt to match his gleaming teeth, a suit the color of his regrettable ’do—is nearly identical to the one he wore as Charlie, Kmart-hating Rain Man–keeper. These probably aren’t the details one should be distracted by in a gritty crime drama by Heat director Michael Mann, but there just isn’t a whole lot to Collateral’s story about a contract killer and an unlucky Los Angeles cab driver to keep you occupied. Written by Pirates of the Caribbean “screen story” contributor Stuart Beattie rather than by the auteur himself, Collateral contains hints of Mann’s lyricism but none of his depth. The focus is on the cabbie, Max (Jamie Foxx), who tells h ... " [More]

Re: Your overrated list
by Risselada in Totally Over-rated

lost interest.

"Heh, and your list contains some of my favorites! A Clockwork Orange, Reservoir Dogs, Magnolia. And Sin City is pretty close to my top too.Would I expect these to be on any kind of best list? Well that's hard to say. A Clockwork Orange is the most likely. " [More]

Re: Your overrated list
by Windbreaker in Totally Over-rated

loved it.

"Looks like the original list is getting plenty of debate. It feels like a tangent to list some of my own. I took a look at the IMDb Top 250 list and came up with the following over-rated flicks. Keep in mind, I'm not saying they're bad -- just not worthy of "Best Of" lists.American BeautyAmerican History XA Clockwork OrangeReservoir DogsSin CityV For VendettaMagnoliaMonsters, Inc.Interesting, Riss, that your list contains some of my favorites: Collateral, Crash, Wedding Singer, Toy Story, and Gladiator. " [More]

I had hoped for more
by gothere in You should go there

liked it.

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"I'll confess to being a fan of the TV show. It was cool then, really. So the return of Crocket and Tubbs in an updated, more mature Michael Mann flick sounded very cool indeed. I expected macho brooding set to a rocking soundtrack, which I got, but I had hoped for more. I found the characters hollow and the plot hard to follow, or perhaps simply uninteresting. I can't help but like a film that feels like a music video circa 1988, and I can't rember the last time I heard some loud Chris Cornell fueling a scene – oh yeah, that was Collateral, Mann's last film. But that was better. I do enjoy Mann's stylish episodes, and wanted to like this one. This update to the cheesy 80's hit could've gone two ways and been successful: either cheese it up even more as a kind of self parody (think Will Farrell and Dave Chapelle, but Mann wouldn't go there), or take it to a whole new level of style, image, sex, color, and music. I think the latter was attempted, ... " [More]

Your overrated list
by Risselada in Totally Over-rated

lost interest.

"Swingers's detail pageI thought I wouldn't like participating in this group at first because it get's frustrating complaining about movies, but I can't seem to hold myself back. Puhnner, you asked me to list some of my overrated movies, referring to my definition of overrated by ratio. Well I'm not sure if this is going by the same criteria, but I've come up with a list from another source. I also rate movies at the website movielens. It will give you recommendations based on your ratings and whatnot. It also gives some interesting statistics. For one, it tells me which movies I have rated the lowest compared to the average rating on their site. So I have looked at that list and picked several of them. The thing about this method is that I am not using what my impression of the ammount of acclaim a movie has received for the ratio but rather what the ammount of acclaim a website thinks a movie has based on the votes from it's users. Some of t ... " [More]

Review by All Movie Guide

All Movie Guide

liked it.

In Michael Mann's cinematic universe, the good guys and the bad guys are clearly defined. The catch is that the good guy discovers that very little separates him from the bad guy. This conflict was at the heart of Mann's best films (Heat and Manhunter), and it plays itself out again in Collateral, where Jamie Foxx's everyman taxi driver discovers how hitman Tom Cruise's practical nihilism offers him a way out of the rut in which he finds himself. The action and suspense sequences are taut, and Mann sets the sequences up with such economy that those familiar with the genre may giggle with joy at the artistry on display. This being a Mann film, the action slows in order for the characters to engage in philosophical discussions. While it is fun to watch Tom Cruise play against type, Jamie Foxx is the heart and soul of this movie. During a very entertaining opening act in which Foxx flirts with a high-powered lawyer played by Jada Pinkett Smith, the actor deftly reveals a variety of aspects about the character, all the while remaining entirely believable. This opening sequence is so good, it helps sell the rest of the film because the audience is with Foxx from the get-go. In other hands, this script might have come off as just another run-of-the-mill psychological thriller, but the movie is elevated by confident direction, a fantastic look, and a noteworthy lead performance. Collateral is not the best Michael Mann film, although it is arguably his most representative. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide

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