I wanted it, and I got it… a suspenseful no-holds barred thriller as Michael Mann introduces us to a dark L.A. landscape drenched in the soft glow of street lights. Here you will not find the same “Vincent” Tom Cruise played in Color of Money, this is “Plan B” Vincent, and he is one man you do not want to mess with.
Accompanied with the tagline, “It started like any other night,” Collateral finds Max (Jamie Foxx) living out his workaday life as a cab driver, a life he has led for the past 12 years with the ultimate goal of bigger and better things. Unfortunately, that day will only come if he can survive the events the night has in store for him.
Cue Vincent, a contract killer with a job to do and he intends to do it; five bodies are supposed to fall, and if Vince has anything to say about it, they are going to fall, and fall on schedule. Unfortunate for Max, Vincent has chosen his cab as his means of transportation, and after the first hit goes awry Max and Vincent are forced to adapt to the circumstances. With heat on the street increasing thanks to the likes of LAPD and a slightly inept group of FBI agents you are going to be in for the thrill-ride of the summer.
I could go on and on about this movie as it is about time we get a feature not watered down for a younger audience. We haven’t seen Cruise play any sort of a villain since Interview with a Vampire and before that the palette is clean, but that doesn’t stop him from being the most vicious S.O.B. I have seen in a long time. He is ruthless in killing and has no remorse for those left in his wake, as he can best be described by one powerful line, “What, I should only kill people after I get to know them?”
On top of Cruise’s performance Jamie Foxx explores every emotion in his role as the unknowing mark for Vincent’s killing spree. Forced into every situation imaginable his character must dig deep to find out just what he is capable of, and regardless of the outcome, his life will never be the same.
Through the use of powerful, and at times humorous, dialogue along with Foxx’s anxiety, Collateral is a must see keeping the audience engrossed to the point where you find yourself on the edge of your seat up until the final bullet is fired.
