Collateral - Michael Mann's Masterpiece

Check out my Collateral video essay. Find out why I think this is Michael Mann's masterpiece.

Collateral (2004) is an action-thriller, directed by Michael Mann and stars Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx. The plot follows L.A cabbie Max, who one night picks up passenger Vincent, as what starts out a regular taxi fare for Max quickly turns into a nightmare for him.

Max then finds outs that Vincent is a hitman, who forces Max to drive around the city for a sum of money to facilitate Vincent's targeted kills.

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Copyright Disclaimer: I do not own the movie clips in this video and all copyright belongs to Dreamworks Pictures, Paramount Pictures and any other respective owners.

Copyright Disclaimer under section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976, allowance is made for “fair use” for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, education and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.

Intro - 0:00
My love for Collateral - 0:47
How the Characters become the Story - 1:19
Acting - 4:22
Tension - 6:10
Levity - 7:43
Action - 8:23
Outro - 9:19

#Collateral #TomCruise #JamieFoxx

[HollywoodTown]

Let me know your thoughts below on Collateral and do you think this is Michael Mann's masterpiece?

[drlee]

Collateral is definitely Michael Mann's best film. An existential film that manages to still feel grounded, gritty, and relatable. The script, performances, cinematography, music, editing, and most importantly direction are all top notch. I always say that this film is not genre-specific. You can't shoehorn it into any genre. It has action but is not an action movie. It has a lot of humor but it's not a comedy. It has cops, assassins, and gangsters, but it's not really a crime drama. It's just a unique mixture of all these elements that is a masterpiece.

[aryankaushik]

The nightclub shootout is one of the greatest action scenes.

[mattgilbert]

Vincent is the best portrayal of active nihilism I've seen.

The dialectical tension between the two, how they break each other down and change each other - it's brilliant.

The way Mann shoots LA is remarkable. It's cold, clinical, empty - and beautiful.

This review is bang on.

[KeepingItReel]

100% Michael's Mann best film. The nighttime cityscape ambience was so engrossing and easily Tom Cruise's most daring role. Glad to see it get some recognition!

[PXGetRipped]

My personal favorite scene from this movie was the famous coyote scene. It didn’t really add anything to the plot, but it really set the tone for the whole movie. Michael Mann made an excellent choice by using the song ‘Shadow On The Sun’ by Audioslave in that scene. This film is so underrated!

[jacksonbauer]

Idk about anyone else, but I love this film deeply. I’ve watched it at least a dozen times and I vacillate between wanting Vincent to succeed and wanting Max to survive… Vincent is not your typical antagonist, he shows what could be considered genuine concern for Max multiple times throughout the film and it raises the question of what Vincent will do when the inevitable dilemma of his need to dispose of Max arrives. The coyote shot is movie legend as well. Lastly, the scene where Max is zip-tied to the wheel of his cab is actually the second stop, not the first.

[atiashaunbaker]

small yet obvious observation. Max's cab was like a mobile jail cell that he drove daily. Being confined to a job he tolerates until a " warden" like character shows up(Vincent) and we begin to see the progression of Max unlocking his cell and getting exposed to a whole other world he had no clue existed. Sometimes life has a way of getting you out your comfort zone, even if the process may be uncomfortable and gritty

[joseafalvel]

Just today I watched the movie again and I found out what you mentionned, that beautiful dicotomy between hesitation vs confidence, passiveness vs action, being mechanical vs being spontaneous, Max represents the first ones and Vincent the second ones and it's just until Max's starts to acting more like Vincent is when he is able to succeed. Additionaly at the end, I didn't realize until now but Vicent when he tries to shoot Max in the subway final act he repeats the same pattern he always uses to kill his victims, two shots to the chest and one to the head however he fails and Max took his chance to eliminate him once for all, I'm wonder if routine is what at the end ended up with Vincent, Max was stronger because throughout this wild ride he learned Vincent's rule: adaptability, there were some occassions that almost saved Max from the awful situation he was involved in but luck was not on his side, Vincent regained control, it was until Max himself made the bold decissions to survive when he breaks his eggshell, his comfort zone and finally he wins.

[RCas-wtcj]

Agreed, and don't forget the badass theme song; Shadow of the Sun by Chris Cornell's later project Audioslave. Perfect fit for this LA Noir masterpiece.

[KrogunDK]

I can't choose between Collateral and Heat. They both have a special place in my heart Both are masterpieces as far as I'm concerned. Both of those movies do a good job of showcasing Los Angeles by the way.

[stampscapes]

Great vid! One of my favorite re-watchable movies.

[midnightdriver]

I personally think heat is his best, but collateral is genius filmmaking. Very amazing director Michael mann is !

[MoreMoviesu]

Top tier. Michael Mann is a really great filmmaking talent. Great video guys.

[slaywee]

8:54 i thought you might talk about this particular scene the eyes-lockdown between Vincet and Max how intense it was and the acting done by both actors is marvelous.

[toomuchtowatch-reviewsrank]

Great review and wonderful movie. Always partial to Heat (of course) but need to give this a watch again. its been a while for me. Great work here

[davefs]

Very underrated movie. Miami Vice is very good too. I really like Michael Mann’s style.

[relicman]

Always one of my favorites. Got to see it in the theater.

[MattDonaldson]

A great movie that reminds me of Heat! The look of Cruise and actions are very similar.

[TorreyBrown]

Absolutely! This movie is one of the greats. Great analysis