Grade:  B

Director:  Michael Mann		Released:  August 2004
Writer:  Stuart Beattie		MPAA Rating:  R
Players:  Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Mark Ruffalo, Jada Pinkett Smith		Running time:  120 minutes

Ratings System

Big names all over Collateral: Tom Cruise, Michael Mann, Jamie Foxx.  I like big name films.  I like to see what the supposed best-in-the-industry can whip up.  In Collateral they whipped up something good, not great.

Jamie Foxx is pretty decent here, but I'm not sold on him as a top-tier actor.  When I watch him, I can sense him trying hard to be acting.  He appears at times to be doing pretend-play instead of inhabiting the character.  I felt the same way about him in Ali.

I looked forward to Tom Cruise in this role, but the thing about Tom is that he doesn't seem to know how to create a character different from himself.  He brings the same Tom Cruise-isms to every role.  For example, the scene when the guy falls onto the cab and Foxx understands that Cruise killed the guy, Cruise pulls out his gun and holds it on Foxx.  Which would be fine had he not whipped out the gun Mission: Impossible-style and held a stance as if he was facing down a dangerous foe.  Just the appearance of the gun would have been enough in that situation, Foxx was posing no threat; no need to act like a member of a S.W.A.T. team.  I don't know, Tom Cruise just has the same ticks and beats here that he has in all his performances.  Which isn't all bad.  Generally speaking, I like his movies.  I'm just wondering when is he going to break out of his mold and REALLY stretch himself into something the audience doesn't immediately recognize.

The actor I most enjoyed in Collateral was Mark Ruffalo.  His performance is for real.  The best of the film.

Michael Mann is wholly overrated, I think.  I hear so much about what a terrific director he is, and how great his movies are.  His movies are good, not great.  He's kind of an old fashioned filmmaker, and I dig that.  He uses pacing, sound, dialog and cinematography to good effect, in a traditional manner.  I like his use of the city of Los Angeles in this movie.  This story could take place in any city, but Los Angeles provides a nice texture.

I've complained a bit, but overall I like this film.  The script is good, the film is well made, it's enjoyable ... as long as your expectations are in check.  I talked to a few people who were expecting this to be an action movie, so they were disappointed when it wasn't so much.  It's more of a character study.

It should be noted that crocoWife and I were jackasses at our viewing.  We thought we had put the cell phone on vibrate mode, but apparently we hadn't.  So, of course, the phone rings during the film.  Before realizing it was our phone, we looked around wondering which moron left their phone on.  Heh.  Whoops!

- crocoPuffs