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 Chris' Review: This was a surprise. I'd seen the trailers, the movie posters, even saw a couple of interviews... it didn't look like much. Typical Hollywood bilge. Now, while everything that happened was predictable... the movie still managed to surprise me. I'd never thought highly of Jamie Foxx's acting abilities, but this certainly changed my mind. Subtleties in emotional changes, gestures and glances that said more than a page of dialogue, it really was impressive to watch. In comparison, Tom Cruise seemed stiff and lifeless. Granted, his character was supposed to be a hired killer, for the most part emotionless, but it was interesting to see Cruise upstaged. I also had a problem with Cruise's "Terminator" depiction of his character. He gets shot at, he falls, he gets up. He is in a car accident, he crawls through the glass and gets up. He is avoided by jumping on a train, but at the last minute he follows them by leaping on the back end. I kept waiting for him to burst forth with a gravelly, "I'll be back," or a, "Sarah Connor." It was all the acting technique... not the direction or the writing. So I'm blaming Cruise for this. Jada Pinkett Smith (Annie - Law girl) pretty much just phoned in her role. Granted, there wasn't much there, but the scenes she did have could have substituted a cardboard cutout. The whole idea of the film was not so much the action plot, but a subtext of that plot. We really delve deep into the character of Max (Jamie Foxx). The first 15 minutes of the movie are spent setting up what kind of person he is. A down to earth, hard-working, pride-in-his-job type with aspirations of something better. Aspirations that he's had for far too long without doing much to achieve them. The action part of the plot starts as Vincent (Cruise) hires him to take him around the city. Max is essentially taken hostage by Vincent as he makes his rounds as a hired killer. If that were all there were to the movie, that would probably be enough. It's an exciting theme and a lot can be done with it. Collateral takes it a step further. It becomes a character study. During all the killing and action, you see Max trying to do the right thing. He takes chances in order to try to keep more people from getting killed. Slowly he makes the comparison to his own life, and how he is always too scared to take chances to better his situation. The movie culminates in Max playing the hero and saving the last name on Vincent's list. It's the subtext that makes this movie. A movie about growing, taking chances, bettering your situation. The action ends up being the visual wallpaper on a solid structure of deeper meaning. Were that all action movies could use this concept. The writing was solid, if a little predictable. Some minor plot holes, but even they can be attributed to serendipity, and the movie does make a few mentions of fate that you could probably blame all of it on. It had some significant downfalls, though. The cinematographer was forever thrown into a helicopter for sweeping views of L.A. A bit overused in my opinion. Then there was the coyote in the middle of the street. What was that anyway? Sure, it can symbolize all kinds of things, Vincent as a lone predator, out of his environment, and it certainly foretells death... but when did this become a symbolic movie? One blatant symbol just threw off the entire balance of the movie. Had there been more symbols like that, or had it been removed... but it was there, sticking out more like a white elephant than a coyote. Overall, I'm going to give this movie 5 thumbs up. It was clean, with a good message and generally well put together. I don't think I'll end up getting the DVD though, because, to be frank, as good as it was I just have no desire to see it again.   Jim's Review: All too often, Los Angeles is over-romanticized. It's Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive..."La-La Land". Nothing but limousines, palm trees, celebrities, and glamour. L.A. is usually mentioned in the same breath as New York, but it's just as often cast as the candy-pink cousin to The Big Apple's gritty, urban vistas. Michael Mann's "Collateral" aims to change that view. Or, at least, tarnish it a little. In "Collateral", Tom Cruise is "Vincent", a contract killer with a steely gaze that matches his hair and suit. He arrives in the City of Angels with a briefcase, a list of names, and a gun. One thing he lacks...Transportation. Enter Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx), a veteran cab driver who knows the city grid like the back of his hand. Vincent jumps into his taxi, makes some noise about being a visiting businessman who needs to visit a few "friends", and makes him an offer he can't refuse: He'll hire Max as his personal chauffeur for the evening in exchange for nearly twice the normal fare in return for making a series of stops...Half upfront, half after he's finished, and a bonus if he gets Vincent back to his plane without him having to sprint for it. Max is initially resistant, but the promise of that much cash eventually sways him. It's a decision he'll come to regret. Max first suspects all is not kosher when, while waiting outside for Vincent to return from his first stop, a body lands on top of the cab. Once Vincent returns, nonchalant, asking Max for his help putting the body in the trunk and apologizing for the damage, Max begins to put together the pieces of a puzzle that will reveal itself over the course of one long East Coast night. As the convoluted series of events that follows plays out, we're given only fleeting, tantalizing glimpses into the lives of the characters...Vincent may be a ruthless murder machine, but he loves jazz, respects his elders, and has an admirable work ethic. Max is a hapless "good guy" caught up by circumstance, but he's still a neat freak, a directionless dreamer, and resentful of his family obligations. The ambiguity of the characters mirrors the duality of the city, and helps to frame things with a depth most nail-biter films don't enjoy. Cruise is often at his best when he plays against type. The goofy, boyish grin that often nets him the boring leading-man parts is in little evidence here. Instead, it's replaced by a cold efficiency and a three-day growth of silvery beard. His Vincent is fully-realized and natural. But the film really belongs to Foxx. Even if Cruise is top-billed, Foxx carries the film. Max is conflicted, complex, and genuine. It's a real, pleasant surprise to see what he's capable of as an actor. On the heels of "Collateral" comes his star turn as Ray Charles in "Ray", and after seeing this film, I'll surely see the next. His star is rising, and it seems for good reason. It's rare to see Hollywood invest in a young performer with genuine talent, but Foxx has it. Fleshing out the cast are Jada Pinkett-Smith as an attorney working on a shadowy court case, the ever-versatile Mark Ruffalo as a sharp LAPD detective who understands more than he's given credit for, and Barry Shabaka Henley as a trumpet player with a shady past. I give "Collateral" 7 thumbs up. It's a taut, gripping thriller with good pacing, a fluid storyline, and solid performances. There are a few holes and inconsistencies that keep it from a perfect score, but it's well above average for the genre.
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