Comments on: Collateral (Michael Mann, 2004): USA

By: Nick Snyder

Nick Snyder — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:41:47 +0000

I enjoyed watching this film. It kept me enticed throughout the entire film and I found myself getting lost in the story. However, even though I enjoyed the film and thought it was excellent, I feel that there was a lot of stuff left out. For example I figured that something more would happen with the cop that wanted to help Max and I thought they would continue more with Max’s mother and what happens with Max’s cab and job. It just seemed like there was a little bit too much left to the imagination at the end of the film.

By: Tommy Pastalka

Tommy Pastalka — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:45:19 +0000

In Michael Mann’s film, “Collateral,” the idea that individuals in the modern world are becoming increasingly self infatuated through technology is a main theme. Always connected through technology, people lose touch of human contact and personal identity as they interact via phones, smart phones, even smarter phones, and computers attached by a digital web of instant information. Contrasting this theme to a large metropolitan city, Mann emphasizes his point as Vincent (Tom Cruise) leads Max (Jamie Foxx) through L.A, murdering a string of innocent civilians he reads off of his hitlist, which was given to him via flash drive. No one pays them any extra attention as Max struggles to dig deep into his personality, searching for ways to overpower Vincent and save the next victim. Both Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx played very fulfilling roles in “Collateral” and demonstrated numerous character changes throughout the film. Working well off each other these two main characters left most of the action off screen, instead illustrating their actions through countless interactions and assumptions which allowed viewers to engage more thuroughly with the film. The end of the movie is an ironic twist for Tom Cruise as he is left dead in a train car, circling L.A. as a dead man, no one paying him any extra attention. Overall, I was very pleased with this thriller and happy that it didn’t need excessive violence and bloodshed to engage its audience.

By: Matthew Miller

Matthew Miller — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 01:09:16 +0000

Collateral is one of my top favorite films of all time because it kept me interested throughout the entire film. Tom Cruise puts on a stellar show with his pitch perfect villainy and expert gun skills. I’ve seen this film many times and the play between the two actors is magical and it makes for an extremely enjoyable film. The shootout in the club is one of the most memorable in all of films because of Cruise’s ruthless mindset. The ending is something to be desired but it fits the movie well and doesn’t disappoint. It’s a great film and I recommend it to all.

By: Adam Rondepierre

Adam Rondepierre — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:13:45 +0000

I will agree that Collateral was very well written and portrayed with great acting. I thought that both Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise were each really into their roles and did a great job keeping me interested. Tom Cruise used his serious, yet kinda weird, persona to create an intense drama between good and evil. I also noticed how little action there was in this so-called thriller. The lack of shoot-outs and explosions were missed, but didn’t demote the overall quality of the film. Fox’s character was in an interesting enough situation to keep me entertained during the entire length of the film.