Collateral DVD
Universal Studios
Rated: R
Genre: Drama
Length: 120 minutes
Director: Michael Mann
Year: (2004)
Britt Gillette's Collateral DVD Review
Nominated for two Academy Awards, Collateral is an electrifying, high-energy drama about a paid assassin who kidnaps a cab driver in order to carry out his work. With a high quality performance by Jamie Foxx, Collateral is a movie that draws viewer interest with relative ease. Tom Cruise turns in an outstanding performance as the noted hit man, and Jada Pinkett Smith enjoys one of her most notable performances as a high profile lawyer. One of the most action-packed movies of 2004, Collateral is an unforgettable glimpse into the world of professional assassins. You won't want to miss it…
Los Angeles taxicab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) is an easy to get along with guy, a guy with big dreams of owning his own company and vacationing on a beautiful Caribbean island. When he picks up an unusually beautiful fare, an attorney named Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), the two hit it off real well. Before Annie leaves, she hands Max her card and the two agree to go out on a date later. However, Max's next fare has other ideas in mind…
When Max picks up the silver-haired, well-dressed Vincent, he thinks he's got himself just another paying customer. But Max is actually a highly trained professional hit man, and he wants to utilize Max's services for the entirety of the night - as he takes out each of his allotted victims. Regardless of the money flashed in his face, Max doesn't want anything to do with the killings, but Vincent threatens to kill Max if he doesn't comply.
The result is a night in which Vincent methodically carries out his hits, while Max becomes human collateral, used by Vincent in a war between the drug cartel going before a grand jury in federal court and the only witnesses who can take the cartel down. As Vincent commits each of his killings, the police follow up with an investigation of their own. Slowly, they put the pieces together. Past killings similar in nature occurred in LA in years past and were always topped off by a dead cab driver at the end of the evening. As the cops chase after them, the fate of both Vincent and Max become intertwined. By means of Vincent's manipulations, Max becomes a tool who's enlisted to act in other capacities besides driving.
As the night wears on, and Vincent approaches the conclusion of his killing spree, the identity of his last victim becomes glaringly clear… Annie, a federal prosecutor working diligently on the drug cartel's indictment, is the final hit on Vincent's list. Now separated from each other, Max must hunt down Vincent and put an end to his killing before he takes out Annie…
Wrought with suspense and a number of high-energy action sequences, Collateral is an enjoyable film. The blood and gore is not excessive, and the violence is tempered with comic relief and the interesting banter and evolving relationship between Vincent and Max. And the onscreen relationship between the two characters makes for a great movie. With some the best performances of Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise's respective careers, Collateral is a definite must-see film…
Britt Gillette
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Posted on 7 February 2005