Collateral (DVD)

When it comes to cops and robbers, slick villains and tough heroes, Michael Mann seems to be the director of choice, with the likes of “LA Takedown”, “Manhunter” and masterpiece “Heat” under his creative belt. After straying away from his business as usual work and into other genres, directing such films as “The Insider” and critically acclaimed “Ali”; (both good films but lack that essence ...
...bizarre relief that Michael Mann has returned to familiar ground after a three year absence. This of course comes in the almost enigmatically titled “Collateral” and starring two very unlikely actors as the two principle leads to which the vast majority of the story is supported on. Stepping into the shoes of innocent cabby-cum-hero/good guy is stand up funny man Jamie Fox, his fare-cum-assassin comes in the form of the ever charismatic ... more

When it comes to cops and robbers, slick villains and tough heroes, Michael Mann seems to be the director of choice, with the likes of “LA Takedown”, “Manhunter” and masterpiece “Heat” under his creative belt. After straying away from his business as usual work and into other genres, directing such films as “The Insider” and critically acclaimed “Ali”; (both good films but lack that essence of slickness that Mann is trademarked for) it is a bizarre relief that Michael Mann has returned to familiar ground after a three year absence. This of course comes in the almost enigmatically titled “Collateral” and starring two very unlikely actors as the two principle leads to which the vast majority of the story is supported on. Stepping into the shoes of innocent cabby-cum-hero/good guy is stand up funny man Jamie Fox, his fare-cum-assassin comes in the form of the ever charismatic Tom Cruise. Unlikely choices but ultimately pay off.

“Collateral” is set during the late hours of night into the early hours of the morning. Jamie Foxx (“Ali”, “Any Given Sunday”) plays Max, a Los Angeles taxi driver doing the nightshift, who dreams of owning his own limo company. After dropping off one fare, another gets in the back seat named Vincent (Tom Cruise – “Minority Report”, “The Last Samurai”). Vincent pays Max in the form of six-hundred dollars if he can take Vincent to all five other stops he has to make within the night and an extra hundred if he gets him to the airport on time… Upon reaching the first of Vincent’s six stops Max discovers that his slick passenger is not some egotistic fat cat making business stops. After a body falls from the window of a building onto the roof of Max’s cab, dead, he finds out that it was Vincent’s doing.

“I shot him, the bullets and the fall killed him”

Yes, Vincent is an assassin sent by some crime orientated employee to bump off certain individuals who are, of course, being some kind of nuisance to their criminal activities. After numerous attempts of defiant behaviour, Max eventually plays ball with Vincent’s plan, and as the night progresses, Max starts to learn a little from Vincent and in a weird way starts to embrace his character more and grows somewhat of a dark side to his nice guy/no trouble persona. Seems fairly routine so far…

Max’s previous fare before Vincent is federal prosecutor Annie (we’re on first name terms) played by Mrs Will Smith, or Jada Pinkett Smith. (“The Matrix Reloaded”, “The Matrix Revolutions”). Her character adds the quote unquote ‘twist’ but I think that it will be better off unsaid, even if it is predictable. Meanwhile we have Detective Fanning (Mark Ruffalo – “In The Cut”, “The Last Castle) a step or two behind the enigmatic Vincent at every turn, picking up whatever pieces are left after his murders. The next Al Pacino?

First things first, performances are good. When it comes to our two leads, very good. Jamie Foxx, fairs surprisingly well as the ‘I don’t want trouble’ Max. Arguably a risky casting decision but I think it pays off in the end. He is an interesting contrast to Tom Cruise’s enigmatic Vincent. Speaking of Tom Cruise, there are two types of performance from the big Cruiser: there’s Tom Cruise – The Actor (“Interview With The Vampire”, “Vanilla Sky”) and there’s Tom Cruise – The Guy Who Wants To Show Everyone A Good Time (“The Last Samurai”, “M:I-2”). In this film, we are most indeed watching Tom Cruise – The Actor, let his seemingly boundless charisma support his performance rather than carry it. Oh and he looks like Richard Gear…

Tom Cruise with grey hair may be found to be ironically amusing to some viewers as Hollywood superstars have a habit of spending out thousands of dollars to look younger. That aside, Cruise having a more mature presence on screen benefits his character in spades. Although the script never deeply explores Vincent’s character, his appearance says a lot. The chrome suit, briefcase and the ahem… grey hair suggest many virtues and ideas. He’s a professional, he’s calculating and menacing, he knows exactly what he’s doing and looks like he’s a man with experience on his side.

INT. – PRE PRODUCTION CASTING MEETING, HOLLYWOOD

PRODUCER : Ok we need someone who can give this Vincent character a real edge and dark charisma. Someone who can seduce you in his performance and someone who can make you feel a strange empathy for him.

DIRECTOR : How about… Tom Cruise.

PRODUCER : Tom Cruise – the actor, or Tom Cruise – the guy who wants to show everyone a good time?

DIRECTOR : Tom Cruise – the actor.

PRODUCER: Perfect! But hold on, He doesn’t really look dark, gritty and enigmatic. He looks too… Hollywood.

DIRECTOR: We can just dye his hair grey and go against the good looks stereotypes.

PRODUCER: Brilliant.

I’m pretty sure this conversation never happened. Considering that the director, Michael Mann is also the producer. Well he could be schizophrenic, or just plain lonely…

Joking aside, Cruise makes a surprisingly good turn out of Vincent, despite it being a rather clichéd character, Cruise’s mix of dark charisma and sincerity lifts his performance over other similar villain roles. There is a general sense of lethality with him, which is noticed especially during scenes of immense tension. His professionalism gives the idea that he could kill you in a split second’s notice, which is quite scary by the way.

The main and only chemistry is between Cruise and Foxx in the numerous taxi cab scenes. Unlike Director Mann’s previous work “Heat”, in which “Collateral” runs in a similar vein to, it was the numerous relationships that fleshed out the script and gave the film multiple dimensions. Example: Al Pacino’s character had varying chemistries between all the different characters; Robert De Nero’s thief, every other detective on Pacino’s team, his emotionally distant marriage, his daughter etc. Compared to this, Vincent’s character is very one dimensional and single minded, but Cruises performance makes it enjoyable to watch regardless.

Not only the characters but the situation they are emerged in is not the most original. By Mann’s usually high standards, the story is fairly routine and a tad predictable. Stuart Beattie’s slick screenplay move’s everything along quite nicely, working well with Mann’s gritty yet stylish directing style. Although this is a very routine thriller, director/producer Michael Mann (“Heat”, “Ali”) handles whatever material with pure brilliance, saving it from the realms of average filmmaking. Mann’s directing presence guarantees an enjoyable time with some amusing irony and some excellent delivery of Beaties slick script. The only script problem is that the only characters explored to only real depth are Max (Foxx) and Vincent (Cruise) leaving Mark Ruffalo’s detective Fanning in the dark. Arguably, Ruffalo and his character are underused, but I think that’s what Mann wanted. If I was directing, I wouldn’t want to relive the glory of past work, (in this case “Heat”) instead, I’d try to make something more unique. In conclusion, Mark Ruffalo’s lack of character development could be because Michael Mann didn’t want to make a totally similar film to past and better films.

“I off one fat Angelo and you throw a hissy fit”

It is fair to say that this is not Mann’s best film, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth a look. Mann makes an inventive effort on material that could’ve been disastrous if left in the hands of someone less experienced or someone that’s directed music videos (not all music video directors are rubbish film directors, for example Michel Gondry’s magic touch to “Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind”). With ‘cool’ camerawork and short bursts of intense action, Michael Mann takes a routine thriller and makes it a good thriller with an interesting blend of classical and contemporary soundtrack that captures the LA nightlife perfectly. Editing is as slick as the script peddling along the story with an overall good pace. With a dodgy product placement aside (I left the cinema with a craving for Bacardi – but hey, it’s not as bad as the placement in “I Robot”) it is nice to see that Michael Mann has yet to sell his creative soul to the Hollywood supermachine.

BOTTOM LINE
“Collateral” is not Mann’s best, but still beats the hell out of most thrillers this year. The use of digital camerawork creates a unique visual style that works well and Tom Cruise is at his most dynamic best. The supporting cast bode well even if a little underdeveloped. Story is basic and routine but the script is smooth, slick and street-smart as is editing (hats off to Jim Miller and Paul Rubell). Oh and Jason Statham makes a brief appearance at the beginning. A solid example of a seemingly saturated genre, so try it, you might like it…

CERTIFICATE: 15
TIME APPROCX : 120 minutes

CAUTION:
Strong language
Some strong violence

IF YOU LIKE THIS TRY:
Heat – Mann’s masterpiece about cops and robbers, trust and betrayal, oh and contains one of the greatest gunfights ever made.

Yo, homie. Is that my briefcase?

<DarkMark

 

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