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Collateral
DreamWorks Distribution LLC


7.5

based on 41 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 109 votes
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FILM:

MPAA RATING: R for violence and language

Starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Irma P. Hall, and Barry Shabaka Henley

Max (Foxx) has lived the mundane life of a cab driver for 12 years. The faces have come and gone from his rearview mirror, people and places he's long since forgotten -- until tonight. Vincent (Cruise) is a contract killer. When an offshore narcotrafficking cartel learns they are about to be indicted by a federal grand jury, they mount an operation to identify and kill the key witnesses, and the last stage is tonight. Tonight, Vincent arrives in L.A. -- and five bodies are supposed to fall. (DreamWorks)

GENRE(S):	Action \| Crime \| Drama \| Suspense/Thriller
WRITTEN BY:	Stuart Beattie
DIRECTED BY:	Michael Mann
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: December 14, 2004 Video: December 14, 2004 Theatrical: August 6, 2004
RUNNING TIME:	116 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	USA

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

New York Magazine Peter Rainer

Most of the time we are with Cruise and Foxx, and their interplay is never less than galvanizing.

Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan

As a result of Mann's craftsmanship and concern, Collateral crackles with energy and purpose, a propulsive film with character on its mind and confident men and women on both sides of the camera.

Wall Street Journal Joanne Kaufman

Hugely entertaining thriller.

Washington Post Stephen Hunter

The best kind of genre filmmaking: It plays by the rules, obeys the traditions and is both familiar and fresh at once.

Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert

This is a rare thriller that's as much character study as sound and fury.

USA Today Mike Clark

Shake it all up and you get Collateral, a movie with only one conceivable flaw: its disinclination to break new ground, though no one held that against "The Fugitive" more than a decade of Augusts ago.

Rolling Stone Peter Travers

No crime film in years boasts a cooler vibe than Michael Mann's dazzling Collateral.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker

Cruise is a man whose youthful cockiness has aged into self-assurance and cool confidence. It's a masterstroke of casting. The dynamism of Collateral, however, comes from Jamie Foxx.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

Michael Mann's tensely funny and alive Los Angeles night-world thriller, is, in its own twisty way, a very high-stakes buddy movie, yet it doesn't look like one, because it leaps off from a situation more jangled and threatening than we're used to.

Time Richard Schickel

As much a dark, odd couple comedy as it is a quirky, efficient little thriller.

Variety Todd McCarthy

Occupying a dramatic, philosophical and sensory twilight zone that casts a considerable spell, this intensely focused piece soars not only on the director's precision-tooled style but also on the outstanding interplay between leads Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

Newsweek David Ansen

Mann vividly captures the nocturnal pulse of East L.A. in this taut, confined game of cat and mouse. In the homestretch the thrills get too generic and farfetched for their own good. But the first two thirds are a knockout.

The New Yorker David Denby

Shot by shot, scene by scene, Mann, whose recent work includes “Heat” and "The Insider," may be the best director in Hollywood. Methodical and precise, he analyzes a scene into minute components.

The New York Times Manohla Dargis

Pitched between interludes of anxious intimacy and equally nerve-shredding set pieces, Collateral scores its points with underhand precision.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

If Collateral is all formula, it's polished to a fine sheen.

Empire Colin Kennedy

Perhaps the best premise for thrills since "Speed," only this time the bad guy’s on board and the battle of wits is more philosophical debate than pop quiz.

Portland Oregonian M. E. Russell

Devolves into a contrived, coincidence-driven, by-the-numbers thriller in its final act. That's not to say the movie's a failure. It's impossible to dismiss a film that starts out as such a sensuous, existential crime story.

ReelViews James Berardinelli

Cruise is chillingly credible as the cold, cruel Vincent. And Foxx shows unexpected depth and humanity as Max, whose night encapsulates the cliché about being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

New York Post Lou Lumenick

Stylish - if predictable - thriller.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

The whole movie is something of a joke, a feature-length prank that mixes stark violence and shock humor in the mold of Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction." Though it is a far less ambitious entertainment than Tarantino's masterpiece, it has its moments.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Liam Lacey

The first half is exhilarating, and the rest is a tolerably honourable surrender to Hollywood conventions.

San Francisco Chronicle Mick LaSalle

Collateral is a good idea for a movie, backed up by expert execution... It's straight-up entertainment, not something to see and then talk about a month later, but definitely something to enjoy.

Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington

Really two movies: a taut, terrific, realistic crime drama, and, by the end, an over-the top, high-tech extravaganza which tries to out-Woo John Woo and turn Cruise into another Terminator.

Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt

Stylishly made, if less intellectually resonant than first-rate Mann films like "Ali" and "The Insider."

Miami Herald Rene Rodriguez

Collateral is a small, modest movie writ large by people so talented, they aren't capable of anything less.

Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea

Foxx makes what he does look effortless. He's the reason to see Collateral, as he walks into the frame and walks off with the picture.

LA Weekly Ella Taylor

Like "Heat," Collateral will doubtless go down in film history as the noir marvel it undoubtedly is, but I don't quite buy its characters, and I came out of the theater still wondering what it had to say. Me, I have a soft spot for that old ’60s radical.

The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt

The movie never really gets below that surface. It sticks to the mean streets of Los Angeles without much introspection or analysis. But those surfaces are slick and beguiling.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Nathan Rabin

Mann's moody Collateral unravels toward the end, faltering at its conclusion but dispensing enough atmosphere, characterization, and world-weary humanism along the way that audiences would be wise to enjoy the ride without worrying too much about the final destination.

Film Threat Pete Vonder Haar

After a solid hour and a half, the climax almost seems to have come from a different movie. Collateral is still a hell of a ride, but could've used a smoother landing.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

The best thing Mann brings to his picture is a strong sense of time and place.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

Preposterous without being much fun about it. That's a shame: How often do you get to see Cruise play a professional assassin with Bill Clinton's hair?

Premiere Glenn Kenny

If there was ever an example of a movie's visual language leaving its verbal and narrative components in the dust, this, unfortunately, is it.

TV Guide Maitland McDonagh

It's essentially an urban variation on "The Hitcher" (1986) with nothing much going on underneath.

Salon.com Stephanie Zacharek

If you boil the psychology of Collateral down to its essence, what you get, mostly, is Vincent badgering Max for not having enough chutzpah -- in essence, for not being enough of a tough guy.

The New Republic Stanley Kauffmann

The director, Michael Mann, remembers the best of film noir pretty well, but it doesn't protect his film against its ultimate Movieland silliness.

Baltimore Sun Chris Kaltenbach

If only all this wonderful talent wasn't in service to a story that pushes credulity beyond the breaking point, perilously close to the realm of farce. Too many coincidences, too much convenient timing, too little honest plot development.

Austin Chronicle Marrit Ingman

Ruffalo makes a dent as a dogged narcotics detective, and the Spanish superstar Javier Bardem appears as a crime boss. Overall, however, Mann seems content to play games with his fast cars, cool streets, and loud rock, leaving Collateral squarely within the action genre.

Village Voice Michael Atkinson

Collateral is a slim drink of thin beer, remarkable only as evidence that Mann might have a modern masterpiece in him if he were cut loose and allowed to roam around in his own obsessions.

Dallas Observer Bill Gallo

Suffice it to say that Cruise never seems right in this part--never as treacherous as he should be, nor as mysteriously tortured. Foxx has his moments, but there's no room for his trademark humor, and we can never quite get our minds around the idea that the hit man has beguiled the cabbie.

Slate David Edelstein

It's too bad that halfway through, Collateral turns into a series of loud, chaotic, over-the-top action set pieces in which the existentialist Mann proves he's lousy at action.

The average user rating for this movie is 7.5 (out of 10) based on 109 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Jack B gave it a10:
Dont listen to Chad (SPOILER), i think in just about any circumstance, one person could kill another if they had a gun and someone else didnt! Been watching too many movies chad!

Christopher P. gave it a10:
I love this movie. What is most appealing about it is the suspense, pacing, and overall style. Vincent (Tom Cruise) is the epitome of a cool-headed, deliberate and heartless professional killer. Attractive of his role is the depth of his character. Often he'll respond to Max's (Jamie Foxx) obvious signs of distress and anxiety with a psychological and philosophical response meant to calm him, at one point lecturing to him the concept of adaptation.. It really separates him from the typical hit man in many movies, and it's very entertaining to watch. Jamie Foxx does an intense performance, portraying well Max's coping and dealing with his predicament, and he develops as a character as he faces more severe stress, following the theme of "adaptation" that Vincent mentions early in the movie. Side characters such as Fanning (Mark Ruffalo) add to the depth of the story well by giving a different perspective. During the twist near the end of the movie involving Vincent and Fanning, Vincent's nihilistic philosophies are highlighted. I've heard a lot of complaints regarding the unrealism of the ending, but I didn't have too much of a problem with it. I mean, Vincent was shot in the face beforehand, so that may have been a bit disorienting. With regards to that, I thought it closed very well and had a well-directed final few moments that kept me on the edge of my seat. It's overall an exceptionally entertaining film to watch, with quick pacing, sharp dialogue, intense performances, and consistently evolving characters.

Chad S. gave it a5:
I would rate this movie about an 8 if it wasn't for the absolutely ridiculous ending. The movie literally is great, that is until...SPOILER WARNING!!! [***SPOILER***] A professional hitman is killed by who? A FREAKING CAB DRIVER! Ae you kidding me? It doesnt work like that, good guys dont always win, especially not cab drivers over proffessional hitmen. somebody please remake this movie one of these days with a more logical ending, like the police cornering the hitman because the cab driver called them or something. Please.

Myles #13 gave it a10:
I really, really enjoyed 'Collateral'. Both Cruise and Foxx are at the very top of their game... that's why they were both nominated for the Oscars. <***SPOILERS***> Cruise is quite scary at times as the assassin, while Foxx does well as a cabbie who (eventually) does what he can to save both his skin and that of Smith's character. This one's a thriller for the ages, with a few good philosophical bits thrown in... it's even better if you've seen it before too!

Lawrence P. gave it a9:
An average script with super acting and first class directing by Michael 'Still The' Mann.

James gave it a10:
A masterpeice one of the best films of 04. One of tom cruise's best performeces also I was shocked at jamie foxxes performance.

R Dalvi gave it a7:
Drags in the beginning and in parts. But superb performances and a thrilling climax salvage it. Also, Cruise and Foxx's interactions are worth seeing.

Collateral DreamWorks Distribution LLC

Collateral
DreamWorks Distribution LLC