This movie was an experience! Let me know your favorite moment in this movie! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema Get ready for FIFTH ELEMENT movie reaction/commentary Wednesday! WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS rewatch will be Thursday! :) Enjoy the day!

I really wish Tom Cruise would play more characters like this. He's so cold and surgical as he goes about his business.

Tom Cruise's natural charisma makes him great for villains like this, something I wish he would do more of.

10:48 - If you're impressed by the "audio" in that movie, it's probably because this was directed by Michael Mann, who also directed Heat - the movie with the greatest bank shootout sound design, ever.

_"One of my favorite actors is in this"_ Tom Cruise: *"AM I a JOKE to YOOOOOU?!"*

Cruise's reaction at 10:30 is so realistic and well executed that it is regarded as one of the best gun scenes in movie history. He clocks in 5 shots in 1.4 seconds beating the script that wanted it done in 1.6 if possible.

Who came just for the "Yo homie" scene? Lol

It's interesting that they made him a perfectionist when it comes to all the little details in his life, as perfectionism is one of the major hallmarks of procrastination. Got to make sure everything is just right before you start, but you never start; the making things just right is just delaying the possibility of future failure.

I love Mann's attention to detail of the audio of the gunshots. Movies usually don't try to sound so realistic when it comes to characters firing a gun.

Freaking loved this film, it was so refreshing to see Cruise in a role like this!

One of the best villains ever

"Collateral" has become one of my all-time favorite films. I'm glad you enjoyed it James. 💯😎👊

"Yo, homie! That my briefcase?" Love that line. There was a time where I didn't like Tom Cruise or his movies, but this one and Edge of Tomorrow changed my mind, at least when it comes to his performances. I do feel like Max some times, being indecisive and shit, it's funny how we are afraid of success and end up choosing comfort instead of trying new stuff. In a weird way it reminds me of Fight Club, Vincent could be seen as Max's Tyler Durden, without his "help" he remains stuck forever. Congrats on the 20k man! You deserve it! I know that number will be doubled quicker than you think.

I’ve always been a fan of the dialogue between Jamie Fox and Tom Cruise while in the cab. It’s great at showing both characters differing views it feels like a natural conversation, even though there’s not much happening in the scene it remains captivating to a casual movie goer.

I think you missed that when Vincent kills the jazz player, he's not just being cold-blooded. He gives him hope that he might leave alive, he gives him an opportunity to talk about what he loves, he has a remorseful look after he kills him and finishes the jazz answer himself. Vincent is capable of caring for people but that will not change his killing nature. It's the same with Max, he clearly has a very protective instinct when it comes to Max, he protects him several times with no hesitation both from his boss and from physical danger. But he got in that car knowing he was going to use and kill a cab driver, and nothing that happens changes that. But I think in the end even though he met the miserable bookend to a life unwitnessed, he was glad it was Max who ended up living to the end of the night.

if you had an eargasm from those gunshots, you’d appreciate Heat so much

Gotta love Michael Mann he turns the city into a character

It took me waaaaaaaaaay too long to realise guy was Javier Bardem

"Yo homie, is that my briefcase?" Love this movie. Such a classic.

Collateral is on The Transporter universe (just fun fact) Thats why a Jason Statham CAMEO

Also I love the shoot out between the two on the train, because Vincent was trained to shoot two in the body and one in the head he missed whereas because of Max’s spontaneous shooting he hit, so in other words Vincent lost due to him not adapting to the situation and maintaining a routine strategy and max won because he broke away from his repetitive ways and started being more spontaneous due to Vincent’s teachings.

One of my favorite movies. The coyote scene is magic, with the score from Chris Cornell. Heat is another one, the sound in the shootout is fire. I watch them once a year.

Really enjoyed this film. And this is my second-favorite Tom Cruise performance behind his work in "Magnolia". I think these two films do a really good job of showing that Cruise, who's already a terrific actor, can be REALLY impressive when he plays against type.

Great to see your nod to Brandon. I always enjoy his reactions too. Michael Mann is one of my favorite director and writer, so I suggest the film Heat wholeheartedly.

My fav part of the whole movie is the coyote crossing the street. And it wasn’t even planned. And you didn’t even show it. 😂😭

Great Choice. Great Director, great Screenplay and great actors.All the elements that combine to make a great movie.

DUDE! If you liked this you gotta watch Heat. Easily my all time favorite movie. That audio that you were talking about gun wise is taken to the next level in Heat too. Love your thoughts, keep it up!

For me, the coyote on the downtown city street made the whole movie rise to another level.

Directed by Michael Mann who's Heat you already reacted to. You can see where all those great shots are coming from. I think Cruise delivered a roll of a lifetime in this one. And the rest of the cast was superb. And, ofcourse, I need to mention zen slices of soundtrack. A movie I always back to from time to time. Loved your reaction.

So dope to hear you shoutout Brandon Likes Movies! You guys are the top-tier reactors on KZfaq for sure.

The conversation about them calling each other out and Vincent makes the quote about being old and how you let your dreams slide hits hard.

One of my favourite Tom Cruise roles ever right up there with The Last Samurai and Tropic Thunder

Fun fact: Some cameos throughout the film include Jason Statham playing the man Cruise bumped into at the airport in the opening scene, Javier Bardem as "Felix", the man Jamie Foxx meets while having to mirror Cruise's character, and Peter Berg as well as Mark Ruffalo.

Yours and Brandon's are one of my favorites right now

The music in this movie is hautingly appropriate for each scene. Love the use of Bach's "Air" at the beginning, before all the violence occurs. Perfect selection.

The movie Locke is set in only a car. It never goes anywhere else except in the car.

There’s a really trippy kinda thriller indie film from 2014 (that I think of as a more intense version of The Shining) called Coherence. It’s impossible to talk about any of the plot points without spoiling since it requires so much attention. Apparently there was no script, and instead it was a 12 page “synopsis” that was given to the cast and they didn’t know each other’s lines. Which I think adds to the natural feeling of the dialogue and later adds a layer suspicion because it’s genuine reactions from the actors. Since it had a tiny budget, there’s only like 2 major set pieces but the story is insane. I’ve seen it 4 times, and I took notes twice, but it still gives me that feeling of dread or anxiety every time I watch it. There’s no real relief to the tension like a classic suspense film would have. Once the plot gets into its stride, you turn into a spring under pressure. It’s criminally underrated and under-discussed, and I feel like you would enjoy it just because of the techniques used to stretch the budget. In fact, I’ll probably rewatch it right now lmao. If I had any disposable income atm, I’d try to get it on the Patreon. But I’ll just have to hope one of your Patrons has seen it and liked it enough to recommend it there. Either way. Love what you do, and it’s really cool of you to shoutout Brandon like that. Dude’s awesome. Keep on keepin on, my man.

Forgot how great this movie was. I love all Michael Mann films. When you haven't watched them in awhile, you forget how great they are until you watch it again and you become mesmerized all over again.

Collateral is one of my favorite films of all time. Some of the scenes are like god damn poetry to me. I actually love the soundtrack to Collateral. So Imma have to disagree with you on that one, but it's all good :D

This is a criminally underrated film.

"Think anyone will notice?" Vincent is scary, cold and emotionless even when he's dying. After seeing that side of humanity, Max will NEVER be the same again.

A year later, I still appreciate your comment about using a taxi as a central location - it does indeed 'compress' the story, limits scenery and focuses the film on the screenwriting.

Awesome take. Collateral is such a great movie. The script, character development, how it's shot, soundtrack and the action is next level. Michael Mann has a great eye and a touch for detail that elevates his movies. I saw in another comment you haven't seen Heat yet - I think you'd love it.

Collateral was also a story about LA. The way it was shot, locations etc. Aesthetically it is very Micheal Mann movie. Heat, Collateral, Miami Vice.

Guarding the sound design at 10:30 for the gunshots, Michael Mann is famous for using actual gunshot audio and not changing it in post production. When he was filming the movie Heat in the mid 90’s, he didn’t wasn’t liking any of the gunfire sound design for the infamous downtown LA shootout scene. He ended up using the original audio where you can hear the gunfire echoing off the buildings, etc. He did the same thing for his later movies, and as a result, the gunfire sounds way louder and more intense.

I always found interesting how the whole film is peppered with these subtle moments of Vincent's.. fondness? towards Max. It's almost like he can't help it, and this is someone who has worked so hard to dehumanize himself, to become the closest thing to a killing machine possible, and yet, human emotion is still something he can't help, even though he'd probably love to. Examples of this is how he went out of his way to defend him from his abusive employer, or how he stopped for his mother's flowers in the hospital or how he saved Max in the night club even though there was no real reason to keep him around now that he had his list back. It's so interesting to see those small moments of humanity that Max apparently brings out in Vincent and then see him purposefully try to push them as far down as he can because because he perceives them as interference. But to reject the things that make us human is to engage in a never ending war with one self, and Tom really played that ever present internal battle beautifully, I think. He does a great job of intriguing us and making us wonder what the hell happened, or what could possibly happen to a person to push them to such lengths. This movie was the one that really sold me on Tom Cruise as an actor along with Minority Report.

One of my favorite movies. The entire cast was excellent, the cinematography and editing were spectacular, the pacing and tone were very consistent. Truly a great film

The alleyway shootout is just incredibly well done

It’s my favorite movie of all time and it was definitely refreshing watching someone doing a first time reaction so I can experience it again. 💯

I found you about a month ago and you are truly one of my favorite creators on this platform. You’re incredible insightful and engaged with what’s happening on screen. Keep up the good work!

Here's the comment I remembered about this movie and it's final showdown that has some interesting detail: "anybody wanting to know why cruise died, look at the train door, see those 3 holes? two aimed center mass, one at the head. Vincent does that pattern for killing throughout the whole movie, and in the situation where he faces max, there just happens to be a metal door blocking Max's vitals, its an allusion to the repeated cycles Max lives through the whole movie, its the same thing that kills Vincent, he falls back to routine and fails because of it. The technique is called a Mozambique Drill, and is what hitman like Vincent and John Wick use to great effect through out both movies."

For perfection in cinema, I invite anyone to the dueling monologues between Vincent and Max leading up to the crash

If you've never watched the revenant you ABSOLUTELY need to. A master piece of cinematography.

Fun little tidbit, the reason Tom didn't tag Jamie in the train is because there are horizontal bars on the carriage door at the exact height where he usually shoots efficiently. Torso, and head.

That shooting is considered one of the finest examples of defensive handgun use on film.

Michael mann is one of my favorite filmmakers. Hale has done so many great movies, Collateral, Heat, Last of the Mohicans, Black Hat, The Insider, Public Enemies, The Kingdom, Ali, Thief...just a fantastic filmography, I recommend them all ! On this he shot nearly the entire film using HD cameras and only ambient light, to show how the city really looks. The parking garage to office shot from so far away, using just interior ambient lights...in think the interior of the light rail is the only part shot on film, since they green screened the outside passing by. Another cool note, I think the final train station is the same on in the beginning of Heat, which you absolutely need to react to if you've never seen it.

I saw this movie in the theaters and when Vincent died on the train, the theater was all quiet and I said in a fairly loud voice "Now that's a Taxi Cab Confession!" the whole theater busted out laughing.

The postcard picture of Max's dream hearkens back to a narrative device in Michael Mann's first feature, 1981's "Thief".

Michael Mann (who made this), also made the theatrical "Miami Vice". He loves using gritty natural lighting and natural sounds from real weapons. Also...I lost my mind when I first saw Mark Ruffalo. This is one of Tom Cruise's best roles.

Before John Wick there was this movie. This film was top-tier awesome. Check out Michael Mann's movies btw! Heat (1995) Miami Vice (2006)

Already mentioned it before (but it bears repeating) Jamie Fox’s performance in this was worthy of an Oscar nod.

I watched a behind-the-scenes on this film and Cruise put an inordinate amount of time into making that bit in the alleyway look as smooth as it does.

There is a lot of things in this movie.. Connections, metaphors, foreshadowing, etc When Max is giving her a ride at the beginning and they have 0 traffic, Max says he "Gets lucky with the lights." In his shootout with Vincent the lights on the train go out for a moment. That's when Vincent's training and how he shoots fails him. He fails to see Max move and you can see his execution wound pattern (Mozambique) in the bullet holes on the door. He missed

If you haven't seen Heat, you gotta see Heat. Same director, De Niro, Pacino, an incredible supporting cast, and the single best shootout in movie history.

Great content, balance, and velvety smooth voice, you’re killin it my dude ❤️ I’m here for this

I love how 3 years before No Country for Old Men, Javier Bardem is almost unrecognizable. What a difference a haircut makes.

This has been one of my favorites for years and I always felt like it was underrated. I also love the Audioslave song in it "Shadow on the Sun" during the scene with the coyote.

There's a great film produced by Pierce Brosnan called "The Matador". He really wanted to break out of the "smooth" characters he's been stuck with. I'm thinking about it as it's a very different exploration of a hit man that I think you'll enjoy. Great work dude!

Tom Cruise's run is so damn satisfying to see. Reminds me of Robert Patrick's running as the T1000 in T2: Judgment Day. Robotic, driven, purposeful.

Max flipped the switch when he was playing Vincent because when the walls started closing in on him, he realized that to them, he was an elite hitman who wasn’t to be messed with, and could use Vincent’s reputation to his advantage. There really was no other option at that point, either he’d stutter and cry for his life and get shot anyway, or he’d have to completely get into character and possibly make it out on reputation alone.

"hands of time" is the track that was playing while Anny + Max was in the taxi. The lyrics in that song was word for word what Max's life was up to that point. It was an intentional choice by the director; you should check it out.

You open that trunk, they go inside. Oscar worthy performance from Cruise. He was in the zone.

If you want a film centred around one location, you have to watch Locke. Tom Hardy is the only character you see on screen for the entire film and it all takes place in his car as he’s on a long drive. True tour de force of acting

I love that you pointed out the sound during that shooting scene. Sound really stands out for me in Michael Mann movies. The sound during the shoot out in Heat, in particular, is just excellent.

Brandon and you are my favorite people on KZfaq reacting to great movies and series :)

My all time two favorite movies came in 2004 . Collateral and Lord of War . Fun fact , Antonio Pinto did the music to both of them . You can feel it during the philosophical conversation. The clash of two ideologies. Such a great movie

Max: *recklessly driving about 60 with a death wish* Him: "Metaphorically it's pretty beautiful"

In the vain of Collateral, I’d also recommend The Fountain, Insomnia, Identity, Frailty, Road to Perdition, The Village and The Prestige... just a few underrated 00s films

I was always a Jamie Foxx fan from the beginning as a comedic actor. But this film, then Ali later the same year sealed the deal. He's one of the best dramatic actors alive. His performance turns this really good film into a phenomenal one. We are with the character for such a short time, and the entire film succeeds based on the audiences investment into the character and our desire to see him make it through the night. Kudos to Tom Cruise as well. Stepping outside the constant A-list hero role to play someone so menacing. He pulls it off perfectly and should do more like this.

Your reaction to Ruffalo getting capped is the same as mine and my girls. That moment had me shook to the core.

They came up with some really interesting solutions for lighting the inside of the cab, and I love how a neo-noir like this uses digital, creating the opposite of the low-key classic noir lighting schemes in favor of a night that seems alive, and where there are no shadows to hide in.

One thing Michael Mann pays great attention to (aside from great composition and use of colour) is prepping his actors, especially when it comes to weapons. He had De Niro and Pacino etc go through weapons training with ex special forces guys for Heat (you should be able to find the video). He did the same with Tom Cruise for this. He also had him work as a UPS delivery guy for a day to see if he could do it without being recognised...

I remember watching this movie, up until after the first hit is finished, waaaaay back in the day. It’s interesting to see how it turns out! Also, really fascinating to see these actors in a movie that looks like it was films on a Sony handheld camcorder. Also congrats on passing 20k, in like, 4 months, that’s insane.

James, I love and truly appreciate how you actually watch these films. I realize your intent is to initially review the films for their cinematography values but from what I've seen you tend to end up enjoying the films for their content and storytelling as well. Some of these films were never regarded as "good" movies by critics and the sheep consumers. I also enjoyed these same movies. Thank you for giving us your views on these films from a creator's perspective as you've brought to my attention many scenes and aspects of these films that I never fully appreciated until you pointed out and explained them. Thank you again.

That quick pull on the thugs is amazing, very similar to that episode on Miami vice with the assassin who pulls on a cop who is being held at gun point. It’s so fast it’s almost impossible to react to.

Refreshing to see this analysis of a great movie. Thanks for sharing.

The first thing I think of in Collateral is the scene in the jazz club when they're talking about Miles Davis. That scene is so haunting and gave me chills. Enjoying your reactions, James! Thank you

Hell yeah this film rules the school. Awesome vid. Here before 30k!!

“There are better songs to die to.” That cracked me up.

My favorite movie my guy, so happy you made this

Bloody love this film. Great choice James. Hope you're staying safe! You looking happy and healthy man

Yoooo. Both you and brandon are my favorites to watch it makes me so happy.

Love the little details of the final shoot out. Vincent is such a trained killer that he's a creature of habit (which is an interesting juxtaposition about what his character preaches) that he fires at Max with the same pattern he killed the other victims with (as described by the coroner in the morgue), but it that causes him to fire into the metal of the door so his shots don't pass through, but Max, who's untrained, is firing randomly and hits Vincent through the glass (which, in turn, is an interesting juxtaposition about how his character has lived).

the gunfire sound when he killed those 2 thieves is so epic. I had the same reaction when I first saw the movie. Had the same while watching Heat (1995) from Michael Mann. You should certainly watch that one too. I love movies where they focus characters and their motivations first so the the action scenes have more weight and are not just for show.

I really like collateral. It's deep but still very exciting and action packed. So many emotions and thoughts in the end...

It's crazy that you mentioned Brandon Likes Movies because his channel and yours are 2 of the only 3 reaction channels of any genre that I'm subscribed to.

The scene where the police officer pulls over Jamie Foxx’s character and is about to check the car boot is one of the most stressful scenes ever put to film. Great stuff.

The fact that you and Brandon are buddies brings me great joy.

Michael Mann movies always have the most realistic gunshot sounds. the noise level.

that guy he runs into in the beginning is none other than The Transporter himself. little crossover. confirmed by Mann.