"Fates Intertwined, Cosmic Coincidence" (Collateral review)



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Collateral is one of the most brilliant action movies I have ever seen. I might be a little biased on this because we studied this movie in our film class, so that is why I only gave it four stars. It is still a wonderfully made movie or otherwise we would have picked the norm, Citizen Kane.

Collateral is a Michael Mann movie about a cab driver named Max (Jamie Fox) who one night picks up a man like any other by the name of Vincent (Tom Cruise). He takes him to his destination and gets an offer he can’t, that is to drive him to several stops throughout the course of the night. While he waits for Vincent to come out of his first stop, a body suddenly falls on top of his car. Soon we learn that Vincent is a hit man, and that he has four more stops to make.

There is a grater quality to this film than just action. We come to know the characters as if we ourselves were on the cab with them making every stop. I loved Tom Cruise’s character, he is a hit man but a likeable man. He sees the world in a much different way than Max, and finds his job to be nothing more than just that. At some point he makes a comment that the people he kills are insignificant compared to how large the universe is. A true point he makes, that one death, from over 6 billion people is nothing at all. We see Tom Cruise as this silver fox, with a wisdom hardly attained by someone his age. By far this is his best action movie I have seen, and could not help but like him even more than Max.

Max on the other hand is this man with a dream to one day have his own limousine business. In a way though he is this man who hides in his cab which is an excuse to after his dreams. As the movie progresses he has to face a choice, whether to let Vincent make him do what he says, or stand up to him. In a way Vincent gives him the strength to make a stand. So our initially weak character gathers courage and makes the stand.

There are many beautiful aspects in this film. Master editing, and wonderful cinematography. The setting of Los Angeles at night is by far my favorite. There is suspense, and great action, including a wonderful crash scene. Collateral stars Tom Cruise, Jamie Fox, Javier Bardem, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Mark Ruffalo. With this film, which obviously now is in my top 100, Tom Cruise becomes my favorite actor of all time. I don’t care if people don’t like him I like him, he is a brilliant actor, and no wonder he is one of the highest paid actors. He has earned his fame, there is no doubt he is talented.

I would recommend this film to everyone. I think you would all like it, for it is a brilliant film with a great plot, and superb character development. In fact I don’t just recommend this movie, I urge you to watch this movie. It is the best action movie I have ever seen. Go rent it or buy for you’ll want to watch it over and over again.

Collateral