Collateral

Endlessly sick and just such a good job in tension and action. I could easily watch this forever and not get bored. Haven’t seen too much action movies in my cinephile life but this is definitely up there with the best one I’ve seen so far. Just such a singular, engaging and gritty movie all the way throughout. Michael Mann might just be the coolest guy ever cuz this such a fun and amazing ride of a film. Absolutely packed with so much twists and turns that keep you guessing each time and right when you think the film is slowing down, it only picks up speed to get deeper into this dark nightmare. First of all, cinematography is very good. It captures this sort of beautifully lit atmosphere of LA while still putting into perspective its gritty, punctual and rough landscape in that moment with suffocating close ups and skaky camera movement. Also couldn’t have gotten a better acting duo for this film with Jamie Foxx and Tom Cruise just absolutely smashing their roles and making such an intense and gripping character dynamic. Tom plays a poised but insane and dangerously confident assassin with Jamie being the perfect counterpart to that as an innocent wannabe bystander, an everyday passer by guy caught up in the midst of chaos. He sells the anxiety and reluctance in his character so well that makes something relatable out of his character. Tom is endlessly stern nimble on his feet in this with his punctual persona in this movie, never letting off his gas of anger and aggression for anyone. It’s such an interesting dynamic as I said to see unfold not only because of the acting but also the writing. writer Stuart Beattie effortlessly matches the engaging nature of action and progressively heightened stakes with the engaging nature of morality and commentary of the sides of society and humanity’s spectrum.  An everyday man living a life of constant regularity of the 9-5 meets an eccentric hitman who lives off the thrill of kill. The film and its clashing dynamic between the two, often asks the audience certain moral compass questions like is breaking that cycle of monotonous working class life worth pursuing a greater feeling of self fulfilling success through the life of crime and corruption. The answer is simply probably not as Max himself would answer as a standard Taxi Driver, but in Vincent’s eyes the answer is yes. The fact of the matter is, he dosen't care about being seen as the bad guy or hated by millions, the thought of cash and ultimate happiness through the money and jobless life trumps all of the risks that come with the crime infested life. What are you willing to do to find purpose and fulfillment? That is the question. Will you spend the rest of your life as a spec of humanity, catering to the machine of everyday monotony and regular work, or will you play by your own rules, get to success by the fast route to not even have to worry about that past stagnant life again? That’s the belief system not only Vincent but so many others thrive on to find purpose. One of the best action packed movies and endless fun, but also one of the best movies that explores the morality and values behind criminals.