Collateral (2004)
It started like any other night.
You know that classic movie setting where you have a professional somebody - killer, assassin, hitman, CIA operative, spy, gun-toting powerhouse - and then a not-killing type professional worker that end up being in a situation? Tonight, we’ve got one of those things - one that’s old enough it uses Jason Statham for all of about ten seconds and then you never see him again. Yeah, roll back the way-when to a time of taxis and criminal intrigue, tonight we go check out Collateral.
The story here is one laced with some pretty dang good elements. You get plenty of use of things like foreshadowing, Chekov’s gun, comparison drawings, and I think at one point perhaps something that’s supposed to be deeper than I’m capable of understanding or maybe even an accidental drug trip. At our low end, we have a story about a day in the life of a cabbie. He’s working to save up for some nice transition into a limo business, and seems to be nice enough a dude to his passengers. After letting off an attorney woman and landing her number, he ends up picking up another passenger - one that’s offering up a major bonus if he just sticks with him for the night. This ends up being a very important decision in his immediate life, as this man turns out to be a hitman, and they are in for one bumpy night.
The actors do a good job here. You want a robo-Cruise with some Wick-like moves? We got it - and he comes packed with information you didn’t even think you’d need. You want a taxi driver trying to hold his crap together and looks like he’s in a bad situation? We got that too. The interplay between the two is solid, albeit at times a little confusing when it feels like both are playing this mental game of trying to psycho-analyze each others life decisions. The supporting cast do a well enough job as well, and there isn’t a ton of decisions that really feel out-there stupid or wacky. It’s pretty solid in this department.
The characters themselves are pretty well built as well. We get to see our main get driven to his breaking point, which I guess you could say might imply he’s reaching a point of internal enlightenment towards realizing his dreams as a person - or it might just be stress getting him to crack. The movie sort of ends at a point that it just leaves you hanging as to the exact ending beyond the main person versus person conflict - so we don’t really know too much if there was any sort of character development in it. The main hitman is so back and forth with his actions sometimes that it’s hard to feel there was any development involved since he’s just so all over the place - great at what he does, but hard to pin down. The side characters don’t have a ton of development either, and most actually aren’t even around for all that long.
This cabbie is in for one heck of a ride.
It might sound like I’m implying it’s a bit of a let down in that regard, but it actually all works really well when it does work - but much like the hitmans all-over personality, the movie itself can be a bit of a back and forth. There’s some moments that feel heavily like padding the run time, even though the fact it’s a lot of taxi travel would usually merit some sort of travel montage to inform the viewer there’s a location change happening - critically not a horrible thing, but from an entertainment standpoint not always the greatest. The counter-acting action scenes are brutal when we get them, but most the movie is much more slow tension and mild drama between two opposing characters then it is a John Wick action-extravaganza.
When we do get action it’s nice and crunchy. It’s not the only part where effects come in to play - people falling on car roofs, some morgue action, a sweet car stunt - but it is where things can get real amped up. Breaking bones, bullet impacts, at times some thick red stuff left behind - it lends a bit of visceral side to it to really help it stay grounded and get those “oohs” and “ahs” out. Costume work is another one of those modern-types, so it’s hard for me to really feel like there’s anything impressive despite it all feeling quite like a realistic setting with believable attire, whilst still keeping a distinct look on the two mains to easily identify them.
Audio balance is well done, you won’t miss any lines outside the ones that are in a different language - which must not be super plot-relevant considering it just subtitles them as “speaks Spanish” instead of informing us what was said in Spanish. The music is fast and furious, jumping between genres and levels of heft as it sees fit - which isn’t always incredibly necessary but does often help the feel of “car radio” and the likes. The fact that everytime the cops get involved the soundtrack gets nice and heavy has me rooting for the cops to be in it more than they are, but the entire thing isn’t bad despite it not necessarily standing out to me personally.
Cruise control for cool.
If you want something that really plays on the crime drama and tensions, this is a good choice. The action isn’t so frequent that I’d say a person looking for mass amounts of fist or gun fights will be driven the entire time, but the stuff it does have in there is well done, and the entire movie has that believably realistic quality to it.