Tom Cruise’s skin-deep posturing as a business-like assassin, enhanced by his ludicrous gray hair and beard, goes a long way towards contributing to the implausibility of Michael Mann’s Collateral, the story of a killer named Vincent (Cruise) who hires Max (Jamie Foxx), an L.A. cabbie, to drive him to his evening’s five murderous appointments. Cruise’s villainy is all surface, from the head snaps and cold-as-steel glares to the no-nonsense wisdom he imparts to Max, but it’s nonetheless an enjoyably unbelievable performance, full of the stylish nastiness that Mann so ably knows how to dress to the nines. As with DeNiro and Pacino's characters in Heat, Vincent and Max, despite being on different sides of the law, are similar loners, since both – whether it’s driving a cab or killing for money – “do what needs to be done.” Mann’s interest in the codes of honor shared by men is diluted by the increasingly silly plot twists orchestrated to prevent the film from running out of gas, but the director’s sleek visual eye – everything in Mann’s world looks tailor-made for a men’s cologne commercial – turns nocturnal Los Angeles into a thing of jet black, star-twinkling beauty. As his initial scenes with Jada Pinkett Smith illustrate, however, Foxx is the film’s genuine, heartfelt emotional center as unwilling hero Max, providing a captivating authenticity that the rest of this far-fetched thriller never matches.
Alright, Schager . . . where is the review for Alien Vs. Predator??? I need a movie this weekend.
And I'm sure if I missed it, Feces (or whatever you call him) will point me in the right direction. (This coming from a person who's nickname is Wawa . . . but oh well).
Posted by: Wawa | August 13, 2004 at 03:07 PM
Sorry for no AVP yet. I was in Atlanta for the weekend - still sick as a dog - and didn't have a chance to see it. If my health holds up for a couple of hours tomorrow, I'll definitely be seeing it.
Reviews of The Manchurian Candidate, Napoleon Dynamite, and - yes, you asked for it, Wawa! - The Brown Bunny in the next few days....
Posted by: Nick | August 15, 2004 at 11:41 PM
Oh, and it's FACCE, not Feces....though that's funny as hell....
Posted by: Nick | August 15, 2004 at 11:41 PM