Collateral (2004)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Michael Mann

Writer (WGA):

Stuart Beattie (written by)

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

It started like any other night

Plot:

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 LA. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.

Plot Keywords:

Cab Driver | Killer | Hitman | One Night | Los Angeles

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 11 wins & 36 nominations

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Untitled Michael Mann Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40965) | Iceland:16 | Ireland:15 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18SG | Brazil:14 | India:A | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | France:U (with warning) | Hungary:16 | Spain:18 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Denmark:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:R-13 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of the photos in Ida's hospital room is of Mischa Barton. Two of the other pictures feature TV shows made by Paramount: "Becker" (1998) and "Sister, Sister" (1994).

Goofs:

Continuity: Right before Max crashes the car, they pass by Staples Center in Los Angeles and it is green and red (they change it to green and red during the holiday season). Then when you see Staples Center throughout the rest of the movie (which occurs on the same night) it is back to the original colors of blue and red.

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Howard Stern on Demand: Cuba Gooding Jr." (2006)

Soundtrack:

Shadow On The Sun

"Will my existence be noted by anybody?"

This is a collision of two lives… All collapsed in the events of one night…

The movie starts with Vincent (Tom Cruise) arriving to L.A., a guy who just looks perfect…

Some people happen to people on purpose, in order to tell them something about their lives…And they sit somewhere and share two or three lines, and they leave, and you know, your life is changed…

When Max (Jamie Foxx) first meets Vincent, it was "who cares? He was a dreamer when he said: "I just saw the woman of my dreams…I'm getting married in my mind right now." Vincent says, "I want you to disconnect so that when you guy do connect, it's like day and night." And continues… "I got five stops to make. Collect signatures, see some friends, and then I got a 6 a.m. out of LAX. Why don't you hang with me?"

It's not until the offering of the money that you see really connect…

"Collateral" projects in a much deeper way into Cruise/Vincent character… He can become very quiet, and we can look at the screen, and we will feel that Cruise is totally in command…He's a quick draw…Vincent is fast…As an assassin, he must be economical in his moves…

The film focused some of the wildness, and what lurks below the surface of L.A. Just the opening shot, when we look at that cab driving out and we see the big paintings on the walls, it was just visual sophistication…

The movie is not an action story… It's a compelling drama with realistic action that works for the story… And it is done for an emotional reason… Cruise gives a dynamic performance as the cold-blooded killer… Foxx is terrific as the honest hearted guy driving a cab for twelve years, and both come together suddenly like a spike in a railroad right here in this point where things were going to change in one night…Jamie Foxx finds himself in the presence of a real adversary in the form of this bumbling cab driver, who has never fired a handgun in his life…