Rent Collateral (2004)

Quiet but good - Collateral review by CP Customer

Very quiet and slow but watchable (only once)!!

Taxi Ride From Hell - Collateral review by CP Customer

A taut and at times terrifying thriller featuring Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise. Foxx is a taxi driver who has spent the last 12 years dream of setting up the ultimate Limo business. He becomes an unwitting pawn in a contract that Tom Cruise (playing a hard nosed man ) has been hired to carry out. Really don't want to give too much away but this is a gripping film which will have you, like it did me, on the edge of your seat.

Cruise Hits All The Right Notes In This Jazz Infused Blockbuster - Collateral review by CP Customer

Take a cab ride with Max. Garrulous in good company, yet discreet, he's self-effacing, compassionate, intuitive and adaptable.

Silver-haired and silver-suited Vincent's visibly focussed, driven, sharp and articulate. Yet look more closely and you might notice something slightly different about him. Spitting out words laced with venom and acting in a fashion that only a man in total control can, he's not the average businessman that you might have initially mistaken him for.

Director Michael Mann allows us quality time with his characters in what is an intentionally unhurried and sensual opening sequence. And they're characters that writer Stuart Beattie has successfully painted in full colour.

Mann's pacing, of what is a 120-minute film, is superb. Never getting bogged down in unnecessary back-story the sense of tension, which is well maintained throughout, constantly builds with the growing momentum. It's also to the veteran director's credit that he doesn't allow any sense of Hollywood-movie-contrivance to creep in.

The cinematography is awesome too. The City of Angels, shrouded in night brought to life by vibrant neon-technicolour, looks fantastic. James Newton Howard's score is also particularly effective.

Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx both produce bravura performances. Cruise as comfortable with darkly comic scenes as with the nuances of a remorseless killer. Foxx, meanwhile, expertly emphasising Max's personal and emotional arc.

Michael Mann's films continue to be a real draw. Just like a good jazz player he improvises, plays unexpected off-notes and keeps his audience guessing.

Collateral is one of his finest.

Excellent! - Collateral review by CP Customer

Excellent film, brilliant cast. Well worth watching.

Beware of the man in the grey suit. - Collateral review by CP Customer

Wow, from start to finish the film won`t let you look away, Tense, scary and very good. Poor Max with his fare from hell, while vincent is cool, calm & calculated. Enjoy.

OK but ........ - Collateral review by CP Customer

....... it may have been me but why do American actors mumble so much, so much so that you couldn't always tell what they were saying even when you rewound the film and listened again!

And why is the music so loud and talking so quiet. Turn the volume up, turn the volume down etc. Perhaps I'm just getting old ;-)

An enigmatic & suspenseful film, beautifully shot & amazingly remastered in 4K (4K Blu-ray) - Collateral review by TB

For the first time in his career, Tom Cruise plays a villain. But this is much more than a simple story of good and bad. As this is a Michael Mann film, there are multiple layers of intrigue, motive and character. About how literally a simple decision (calling out to a passenger who had tried to hail his cab and nearly walked away,) can change your life forever.

Cruise plays Vincent, a contract killer who is in LA to carry out a series of hits in one night and who’s MO is to use a taxi cab to get around, thus avoiding detection. Vincent is also one of the most unshowy characters Cruise has ever played. Gone is the normal mega wattage Cruise charm, the sparkling teeth, perfect hair and stand-out wardrobe. Instead we have smart but standard suits, grey hair/beard and blending-in subtlety. This movie absolutely would fail if this was anything other than a low-profile main character. Amusingly enough, in one section of the special features, there is a montage where Cruise goes undercover in the real world as a courier, delivering packages whilst trying not to be noticed, which shows him building up the character through not only looks but actions as well.

The meeting of Vincent with Max and the subsequent story of how the night unfolds once Vincent's cover is blown is brilliantly scripted, but this is where for me the film becomes a 4 and not 5 star one: Jamie Foxx is totally unsuitable for the role. As much as there is a lot of time and effort spent introducing him & building character, the simple truth is that for me overall he was very annoying. And then when he is forced to take Vincent's place in one scene, it is just laughable, no matter how hard he tries.

Welcomingly, the supporting characters are great. My own favourite was Mark Ruffalo as Fanning, the dogged cop who never buys into the narrative that the other law enforcement do. Jada Pinkett-Smith is also very good as well.

The action scenes, especially the nightclub, are brilliantly shot, with Cruise totally commanding the screen.

The film looks stunning and this has only been improved with the 4K remaster, although back in 2003 the film was shot originally in 4K. The depth of the blacks, as well as the shadows in particular are also excellent.

A really good film, which I massively enjoyed.