Collateral (2004)
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in LA. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.
Jillian Jones
Movie Critique
Collateral, the exact definition as found in Webster�s Dictionary is �serving to support or corroborate.� In the 2004 movie respectively titled Collateral the definition of the word is represented flawlessly. There are other words that are brought to mind well enjoying this cinematic accomplishment such as thrilling, or intoxicating. The story appears so believable that it is not hard for the viewer to become so caught up in the plot that you forget anything else around you and become one with the story line. Within the first sequence of events you find yourself siding with Jamie Foxx�s character Max, a long time cab driver and aspiring business owner that like a lot of other middle class Americans has that little voice in there head that says, �yeah someday I�m gonna do it I�m going to take my money and capture my dreams.� But like the rest of us that voice always speaks of dreams but never speaks of realities.
By the hand of fate the man that got into the cab next was Tom Cruise�s character Vincent, a contract killer hired to take down all the people involved in the prosecution of a ring of criminals who are willing to do anything to guarantee they will never have to sit in jail. These two characters share the roll as main characters but they coexist more as opposites then they do as companions. Their personalities and public personas clash to provide for an obvious thrilling sequence of events.
As the film carries on Cruises character shows his true side as the sociopathic contract killer, Foxx finds himself trapped as the patsy of sorts chosen to drive Vincent around fulfilling his hit list. At first Foxx starts as this normal middle class guy that would shy away from danger and did everything to code. However as the movie progresses Foxx took his role on a complete 360 becoming a courageous hero that puts himself at risk to save his own life and of his new acquaintance, Annie, (Jada Pinkett Smith) a young and promising prosecutor that finds herself prosecuting the person that hired Vincent to knock off all the witnesses that could possibly lock him up for good. Throughout the movie Cruise and Foxx seem to reach a point of respect for one another but it all is a mask that they both used to somewhat better the situation that they were both in. However through all this killing and hysteria Cruise remained calm and almost jokingly talked as if there was nothing going on besides a normal late night taxi ride.
This film has a tremendous amount of �behind the scene� factors that ultimately enhance the overall quality of the movie. One of the most crucial pieces that is needed in every movie is the soundtrack that is used to support the mood. In Collateral I found that it had an excellent climactic soundtrack that often times carried the plot and gave it an eerie west coast �zombie� feel. The song Shadow of the Sun by Audioslave felt to me like a turning point because both Foxx and Cruise were completely silent and as the song played a random wolf crossed there path in the middle of South Central. It seemed as if both of the characters were bringing the night as a whole into perspective and although both of them had a different outlook on what had recently transpired in the early morning hours for a second they both had the same thoughts on their minds.
One other factor in this movie that was impossible to ignore was the simple camera views that were used in the scenes, which featured both Foxx and Cruise. It heightened the fact that this was real life and of how possible this really was. It didn�t seem like some impossible situation that would be deemed �Hollywood� but instead it would give the setting for a real life thriller. This camera view paired with the numerous other views that were more �out of the box� it made for a great vantage point to view a great picture.
Another noticeable feature of this film is its editing it tells three sometimes four stories at one between Smith, Foxx and Cruise they all could make a movie out of the events in their lives but somehow they paired them all together and made them coexist perfectly together. The scene transition made the movie flow perfectly as well and once it got going it did not slow down.
In closing after watching Collateral I felt very satisfied with my choice and it changed my views of both Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise, I never thought that Cruise could portray a villain and although Foxx is commonly the good guy I liked seeing him as the edgy courageous super character that he became. The word Collateral was just perfect for this movie and I cant think any other thought that would be better than this.
In terms of an action movie, Collateral is very good. The plot is easy: Tom Cruise plays the contract killer named Vincent, who orders a taxi dramer named Max (played by Jamie Foxx), drive him around Los Angeles to five places so he can knock off five people. In between action scenes and murders, Vincent and Max have interesting conversations and their movie characters are built more and you get to see more sides of their lives. However, the climax on the MTA is kind of weak and unbelievable. Still, overall, for many reasons, Collateral is a good movie.
