After it came up in a conversation with someone at work recently, the other night I decided to watch a great film that I hadn’t seen in ages!
Collateral (2004)
If you haven’t seen it, it’s a crime/drama/thriller directed by Michael Mann (The Last of the Mohicans, Heat) and starring Tom Cruise (Mission Impossible), Jamie Foxx (Django Unchained), Mark Ruffalo (Thor: Ragnarok) and Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix Reloaded) among others.
This is what it’s about according to IMDb:
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of a merciless contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
I know how a lot of you feel about Tom Cruise but I really like him. He just makes (for the most part) highly entertaining and enjoyable movies.
Although he often tends to stick to the same format which might not be to everyone’s taste, he’s made a few films that have broken the mould in terms of what we’re used to seeing him do.
This is, in my opinion one of them.
If I’m not mistaken this is also the only film he’s played a villain in. I use the word “villain” loosely since although he’s the antagonist of the movie, he’s not your typical “bad guy”. He’s just doing a job, one that he takes very seriously and one that happens to involve killing people for money…
Bad guy or not, there’s something really likeable about his character, “Vincent”. It’s like he’s completely devoid of emotion and compassion when it comes to his victims, but if you’re not on his hit-list you could almost be his friend. And that’s what makes this film so interesting and such a great watch. It’s his relationship with Jamie Foxx’s character, “Max” that I think sets this film apart from others of its kind.
The story is nice and straight forward, the pace is good, it’s gritty, it has some great dialogue, the performances are excellent (Foxx’s in particular) and the chemistry between Cruise and Foxx really keeps you watching. It’s also one of those films you find yourself thinking about for a while after.
If you like a good cat and mouse thriller and you haven’t already seen this, I highly recommend checking it out - even if you’re not a fan of Tom Cruise.
Seen it? Let me know what you think.
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