Collateral (2004)

A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.

Director:

Michael Mann

Writer:

Stuart Beattie

Stars:

Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 23 wins & 68 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Cruise	...	Vincent
Jamie Foxx	...	Max
Jada Pinkett Smith	...	Annie
Mark Ruffalo	...	Fanning
Peter Berg	...	Richard Weidner
Bruce McGill	...	Pedrosa
Irma P. Hall	...	Ida
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Daniel
Richard T. Jones	...	Traffic Cop #1
Klea Scott	...	Fed #1
Bodhi Elfman	...	Young Professional Man
Debi Mazar	...	Young Professional Woman
Javier Bardem	...	Felix
Emilio Rivera	...	Paco
Jamie McBride	...	Traffic Cop #2

Storyline

LA cabbie Max Durocher is the type of person who can wax poetic about other people's lives, which impresses U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell, one of his fares, so much that she gives him her telephone number at the end of her ride. Although a dedicated man as seen through the efficiency in which he does his work, he can't or won't translate that eloquence into a better life for himself. He deludes himself into believing that his now twelve year cabbie job is temporary and that someday he will own his own limousine service. He even lies to his hospitalized mother that he already owns one, with a further lie that he tells her as such primarily to make her happy, rather than the truth which is that he won't do anything to achieve that dream. One night, Max picks up a well dressed man named Vincent, who asks Max to be his only fare for the evening. For a flat fee of $600, plus an extra $100 if he gets to the airport on time - Vincent wants Max to drive him to five stops ...

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Plot Keywords:

los angeles california | contract killer | hostage | city by night | driving at night | 

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Taglines:

It started like any other night

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish French Korean

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Untitled Michael Mann Project

Filming Locations:

1912 N Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$65,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,701,458, 8 August 2004, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$101,005,703

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$217,764,291

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures,DreamWorks,Parkes+MacDonald Image Nation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

120 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stuart Beattie wanted the studio to cast Robert De Niro as Max (once again making him a taxi driver, though the exact opposite of Travis Bickle). However the studio refused, insisting they wanted a younger actor in the role.

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Goofs

The "Metro" sign isn't on the wall when Max and Annie run to it, but it appears when Vincent chases after the two.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Vincent: You OK?
Airport Man: Yeah, I'm fine mate, don't worry about it.

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Crazy Credits

There is no sound during the opening DreamWorks logo sequence but the sound of a jet landing are heard during the Paramount logo sequence. In the non-US versions, the studio logos order is reversed, so there is no sound on Paramount's and a jet landing is heard over Dreamworks'.

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Connections

References The Twilight Zone (1959)

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Soundtracks

Spanish Key
Written & Performed by Miles Davis
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By Arrangement with Sony Music Licensing

User Reviews

OK if you ignore gaping plot holes

Rather contrived thriller. The most obvious difficulty is why a supposedly professional contract killer would go to the trouble of taking the cab driver hostage in the first place. Why not simply hire a car, change cabs between jobs, or try to do a better job of hiding what you were up to in the first place? As it is, Vincent (Tom Cruise) as the killer ends up with a very reluctant companion who he must know would try to foul things up for him. The only reason is to keep the two characters of the cab driver Max (Jamie Fox) and the killer together, which might make sense as a way of creating dramatic situations but stretches believability. However, if you can get past that, the very clichéd ending and numerous other plot holes, it's not too bad. I'll give it a 7/10 for sheer entertainment.