Collateral

Wow, Michael Mann really cooked with this. I absolutely love the Neo-noir film style and this film does it incredibly being set on one night in LA. The cinematography is just absolutely perfect with the bright neon lights, shadows and vast urban landscape of LA all shaping up into a stunning looking film. There are so many great shots in this and I was just loving it while I was watching. Mann used digital video cameras to film Collateral meaning he could capture the city night life with the neon lights, street lamps and skylines creating a really dark and gritty film. The other major positive in this is the two main characters Vincent and Max. First, Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx's acting is amazing but I think the dynamic between them is the most interesting. Vincent is this cynical, sociopathic assassin while Max is and ordinary taxi driver making them very very different to each other. The dialogue between them is great with Vincent's story about the guy dying on the train and no one noticing becoming very ironic at the end. Or my favourite when Max basically goes fuck it and speeds up the car, the dialogue then is great making the crash feel really significant and finally seeing Max overcome Vincent. The score and soundtrack to this is also absolutely amazing and fit the vibe so so well especially both scenes with the Audioslave song. Finally, I thought the ending was brilliant, super intense and engaging with some awesome cinematography in the building. The ironic ending on the train is good but weirdly sad to. An amazing, amazing film and definitely my favourite Michael Mann so far. **Sound& score - 10/10 Acting performances - 10/0 Plot & pacing - 10/10 Writing - 9/10 Cinematography - 10/10 Personal enjoyment - 10/10**