COLLATERAL
A film review by Steve Rhodes
Copyright 2004 Steve Rhodes
RATING (0 TO ****): ***
In COLLATERAL, by director Michael Mann (THE INSIDER), Tom Cruise plays a bad
guy, a really bad guy named Vincent. (Reportedly, Cruise was offered the part
of the good guy but wanted to play the bad one instead.) In L.A. just for the
night, Vincent is a hit man with five names on his dance card. Although he's
only supposed to plug five people, he doesn't think twice about shooting any
more that get even briefly in his way. With his crisp white shirt and his
expensive gray suit, which appears to have been chosen to match his perfectly
coiffured gray hair, he looks like an executive, not a killer, especially given
the meticulous way he keeps all of his notes on his high tech, tablet computer.
For transportation, Vincent commandeers a taxi along with its very reluctant
driver, a sweet and reserved cabby named Max (Jamie Foxx). Together they share
a night of crime. Along the way, Vincent passes the time with some great
sarcastic humor that you'll appreciate, but Max doesn't. COLLATERAL is no
comedy, but it sure can be funny at times. It's definitely a thriller, but one
with something of a pacing problem. Sometimes the two guys in the cab appear
to be more interested in killing time than people, and the movie features too
much dead air when nothing much is happening.
The real delight in COLLATERAL is soaking up Cruise's acting. He is so
terrific in the part that you'll be thinking of another actor (Denzel
Washington) used to playing good guys who turned evil in TRAINING DAY to great
critical acclaim. I doubt if the critics will go gaga over Cruise's work the
way they did over Washington's, however. Cruise is quite good but we are not
talking Oscar.
The compelling story reaches its zenith in the long last act. Although twice
needlessly telegraphed, the somewhat predictable conclusion is still
satisfying.
COLLATERAL runs 1:59. It is rated R for "violence and language" and would be
acceptable for teenagers.
My son Jeffrey, age 15, gave the film *** 1/2. He really enjoyed the film's
high action and the acting by both Cruise and Foxx. He thought the movie was
slower than the trailers made it seem, and he didn't like its grainy look. [It
was shot on high definition digital video.]
The film opens nationwide in the United States on Friday, August 6, 2004. In
the Silicon Valley, it will be showing at the AMC theaters, the Century
theaters and the Camera Cinemas.
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