COLLATERAL: PRETTY GOOD, BUT ALLOW ME TO NITPICK A LIL' BIT...

Writing about Claire Denis' entire feature filmography has been one of my crowning achievements here at PINNLAND EMPIRE. In fact, I was so busy with the world of Claire Denis that I didn't even realize I was slowly doing the same exact thing with Michael Mann's work. Its come to my attention that I only have a few more of his films to write about ('The Insider', 'Manhunter' and 'Last Of The Mohicans') until I complete his entire catalog on PINNLAND EMPIRE as well. So lets continue with 'Collateral'...

Here's a film I've been conflicted about since its release in 2004. Much like 'Public Enemies', 'Collateral' is another one of Mann's films that I wanna love unconditionally but I just cant. Don't get me wrong, its full of that Michael Mann style that I love (and blog about) so much: the bright blurry lights, HD cameras, his unique imagery, his vision/portrayal of Los Angeles, the night clubs, his regular cast of actors, the contemporary music/modern score, etc. But 'Collateral' is kinda confusing at times. Not in a David Lynch-confusing kinda way, but in a "are we really supposed to believe that?" Kinda way. With 'Collateral' Michael Mann mixes elements of fantasy (a hitman taking a cabbie hostage going door to door killing people all while pretty much going unnoticed by the police) with elements of reality and grittiness (the HD handheld look of the film) which can be very confusing and disorienting at times because we go in and out of taking the movie seriously to riding it off as pure fantasy. Sometimes its like: Make up your mind! Is this supposed to be believable or not? Mann has worked in complete fiction/fantasy ('Miami Vice'/ 'The Keep') as well as complete fiction/reality ('Ali'/'The Insider'), but the mixing of these two worlds can be problematic. And speaking of worlds, Mann takes us back in to the world of 'Heat' with this film (the criminal underworld of L.A., police stakeouts in the back of vans, double crossing among criminals, etc) mixed with the look of 'Ali'. Id even go so far as to say 'Collateral' has elements of David Fincher with its the darkly lit atmosphere & environment reminiscent of 'The Game' and even 'Se7en' to a certain extent (the large majority of the film takes place at night or indoors at darkly lit apartments and clubs). It also draws influence from the films of Jean Pierre Melville (a common influence on Mann's work). 'Collateral' takes place during a 24 hour period in Los Angeles in which a cab driver ("Max"/Jaime Foxx) is hired by a hitman ("Vincent"/Tom Cruise) to take him to five different locations so he can kill four key witnesses and a lawyer (Jada Pinket-Smith) to stop a trial that could put a powerful crime boss ("Felix"/Javier Bardem) away for good. The only problem is that Max doesn't realize Vincent is a hitman at first. When he finally realizes whats going on hes thrown in to a crazy world of shoot outs, murders, killers, and yadayadayada..

.

It goes without saying that 'Collateral' IS a very entertaining movie but something tells me Mann was trying to make an accurate and somewhat believable film and I just cant buy that. I'm sorry but anyone who's seen this has to agree that this has some of Michael Mann's worst plot holes ever. I don't give a shit if you're a fan or not. Now...I hate being "that guy" who calls bullshit on whether something is believable in a movie or not but 'Collateral' forces me to go there (this also exposes my hypocrisy as Mann's 'Heat', which has more than its share of plot holes, is one of my all time favorite movies). Where do we start? I guess we could start with the overall premise of the movie. A cab driver outsmarts a hitman? For such a precise hitman who's obviously got a heavy reputation to carry out the task he was paid to do in the story, he was pretty sloppy (but pretty badass at the same time, don't get me wrong). What kinda hitman (who's supposed to go unnoticed) throws someone out of a window on to a car, busting up the hood, thus drawing attention to himself as this now busted up car is what hes supposed to get around in? Furthermore, how does someone getting thrown on to a car go unnoticed by passersbys? I get that this scene took place in an alley but c'mon now... And speaking of the busted car, the scene where they get pulled over is quite ridiculous. Who gets away with driving a busted up cab with blood dripping from the side of the hood? Outside of a film like 'Manhunter' and maybe 'Heat', Michael Mann clearly loves criminals over police and isn't a fan of making police look very smart on film and c'Collateral' is no exception. From the beat cops who let Max go with a warning for driving the suspicious car to the detectives who take forever to realize that Vincent's victims are all connected, its a bit messy. Other ridiculousness includes the scene where Max and Vincent go to visit Max's mom in the hospital (I'm sorry but Max/Jaime Foxx had plenty of legit opportunities to escape from Vincent).
But even with my little nitpicky ranting, 'Collateral' still brings some great performances to the table. Mark Ruffalo is "Mr cool" as always (although a little greasy), Jaime Foxx is very good (he even got himself nominated for best supporting actor but it was overshadowed by his nomination for 'Ray' in the same year), Tom Cruise is both badass (the way he kills people is awesome and cold blooded) AND annoying at the same time (those over the top forced mannerisms and jerky movements that we all know Cruise for get a little unbearable at times) and Javier Bardem's extended cameo is great and intimidating. I own the DVD so I obviously don't hate the film, but it coulda been tightened up a little better. And hey, imagine how bad 'Collateral' woulda been had the original actors who were up for consideration had signed on (a post-2000 Val Kilmer and Adam Sandler). So think about that...

Obviously Michael Mann has a talent for crafting elements of action & entertaining shoot out/fight sequences (as seen in the shootout scene in 'Heat', the finale of 'Manhunter' and the rescue scene from 'Miami Vice') with elements of drama and the thriller genre. And at the end of the day he does that with 'Collateral'. Although I don't really buy the ending, its still pretty tense and does keep you on the edge of your seat at the same time (sorry to sound so cliche). Tom Cruise has the indestructible/"wont die" swag of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2 and you genuinely believe that Jaime Foxx and Jada Pinket may not live to the end of the movie (so although I do think Vincent/Cruise is a sloppy hitman, he's still pretty tenacious and wont ever give up). So take some of the stuff I said earlier with a grain of salt. 'Collateral' is still a pretty solid film.