Review of Collateral (2004) by Tristan M — 17 Sep 2015

Collateral is the story of a hired assassin who hops into a cab, and he convinces the driver to take him around LA as he starts killing various people. It's a movie that suffers from the fact that the director seemingly wanted it to be much more than just a simple action-thriller.

It's not content to focus on the action and build the drama as we wonder how Max (the cab driver) will get out of this situation. Instead it has to pause everything so Vincent (the killer) can pontificate about life and spout philosophical mumbo-jumbo, or so a wolf can roam through the street.

It's like 2 different people were making this film. One of them was a guy who knew how to put together an intense action set piece that would keep you on the edge of your seat, and the other slammed on the brakes and said "Hold everything! It's time for symbolism!" I loved the actors in Collateral, and there were moments when I was absolutely eating up this story.

However it never held a consistent tone, and the film ended with a big pet peeve of mine. *SPOILERS* I hate when the bad guy is killed and then we are supposed to believe that everyone lives happily ever after, when in reality Max is probably going to prison for the rest of his life (if he's able to escape the death penalty.

) I wanted to love Collateral, but instead I came out somewhat disappointed. I'd probably watch it again if there was nothing else on, but it won't be my first choice.