About Collateral

Post 1233:

The other night I had a few beers and wanted to watch something fun and fast. You know, turn your brain off type stuff. I put on Collateral with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise. I remember thinking it was okay years ago. I believe now I was selling this one short. It’s not my thing to comment on acting, but here I will. Fantastic. Especially Foxx as the cab driver forever thinking about better days. The characters are all likeable in their own ways. They don’t take anything away from each other. Their conflicts strengthen the plot and the immersion. Very well done. I was hooked and ready from the get go.

It’s not a complicated story with a lot of deep emotional subtext. A few twists and turns.. And it maybe hinges on a couple coincidences that are too farfetched. Still, I think the performances and dialogue are enough to hold it up. There was a thing Michael Mann (the director) started doing with the frame rate or shutter speed in the early 2000s and I don’t know why, but whatever. The guy’s an artist. And he made Last of the Mohicans. Only question—why not make everything look that good?

Never mind. Try new things. And it does come off gritty and high strung and strapped for time. You got your ticking clock. You’ve got your enemies that have a sort of strange, immediate chemistry. Tom Cruise is a maniac as usual. The detectives could’ve maybe been punched up in the script, but this could’ve taken away from the dynamic of Cruise and Foxx. Interesting thriller. It can be cheesy, rarely. Yeah, it’s on the nose once in awhile, but you can’t hit all home runs.

Most cab rides aren’t this exciting. I usually end up wondering why the seats have that strange odor, I think about the drunk guy who was sat in my place ten hours ago, and that’s pretty much that. Collateral is a good ride. Intense. Guns. Bad guys. Fun stuff. Happy trails. Cheers and see you after.