COLLATERAL (2004)

Directed by: Michael Mann

Screenplay by: Stuart Beattie

Cast: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Javier Bardem

At heart, Collateral is but pumped-up B-grade noir, but, with Michael Mann at the helm, it's still chic, solid filmmaking. Assassin Max (Cruise) wants cab driver Vincent (Foxx) to ferry him from one target to the next in the course of a single night. Their fates snarl and tauten when Max decides to take matters (and his life) into his own hands, especially after Max's sweetie-pie, Annie (Pinkett Smith), finds herself in Max's crosshairs. To criticize it for not being more sophisticated would be missing the point and, for that matter, the fun. Collateral--like all Mann movies--has an incredible feel; try to catch it at night, then take a walk outside because Collateral startlingly approximates, through its visual and aural textures, what "night" feels like--especially a night in Los Angeles. Foxx and Cruise are both excellent and, while the plot is stale, creaky in the worst B-movie sense, especially in how it tries to bind lawyer Annie's fate into these tortuous high jinks, Mann's mastery at the helm keeps the viewer riveted. Enjoy it for what a Mann film offers: urban sophistication, top-grade performances and, in spite of its dunderheaded plot turns, a respectable measure of intelligence and cinematic acumen.

Runtime: 120 min.

Rating: R

Jay Antani © 2006 Perihelion Journal