Review of Collateral (2004) by Scott C — 12 May 2011

On one unlucky night a cab driver picks up a man who coincidently turns out to be a hitman. The hitman has five targets he is assigned to kill that night and he decides to use this unfortunate cab driver as his means of getting from point A, to B, to C, to D, and to E. After the cab driver (Max) stumbles upon (Vincents') the Hitmans' intentions he isn't about to let Max go until he has taken care of the rest of his business, if even then.

Beneathe the crime drama aesthetic of Collateral, a very important social statement is being told. Max has been driving cabs for over twelve years with the dream that someday he will man up and put that job behind him and open up his own limo company. He tries hard to be kind to and love those around him but seemingly finds it hard to do so when he can't even love himself. Vincent on the other hand is a sociopathic murderer with twisted apathetic views on humanity. He, however strangely admirably, is a man not afraid to go for the things he wants and does in life. What he does however, is kill people for a living. He holds within himself a distain for people who are too afraid to break away from their fears and just go for the things they really want in life. Max is one of those people.

Reading between the lines one will see that this movie is not just a simple crime drama. It's a movie about dreams and living your life everyday to fullfil them. It's about learning to love yourself by being proud of the things you've done. But not, however, forgetting about the things in life that really matter most, the things that seemingly, Vincent has forgotten about; the people around you. And that no career or fulfilled dream, however impressive an accomplishment it may be, is more important that than time spent and love shared with them. Most of the film takes place within a taxi cab. It is on these moments where we learn about the mentality of Max and Vincent, and where the meat of the movie really unfolds. Sure there's the shootouts and the Tom Cruise struttin around like harcore mofo moments to keep things spicy. But the best moments of this movie come in the dinamic of these polar opposite characters, and the things they both learn from each other in the end. Though picking up a hitman may have seemed like one of the most unlucky things that could have happened to Max. The experience is what finally pushes him to break the funk he's been in and to take the chances he's always wanted the courage to do in life. Michael Mann's Collateral is a fantastic movie with fantastic writing and great acting all around. I give it four out of five stars.