Episode 77: Collateral (Cruisey like a Foxx)

Our last episode was full of characters. Main characters, side characters, comic relief characters, live characters, dead characters, even weird child characters. We decided this time out, we’d go for something a little more bottled up. A little more nocturnal. You might say we’re putting the podcast on … Cruise control. We’re watching the 2004, Michael Mann helmed Tom Cruise/Jamie Foxx vehicle Collateral, the story of a cab driver with big dreams, a hitman with a long list, and a dark night in LA. It’s a game of cat and mouse as cab driver Max (Fox) tries to avoid ending up dead or in prison after the tightly-wound hitman Vincent (Cruise) shanghais Max into being his driver for a series of hits.We picked Collateral because we think it’s a cool thriller with a lot of well stylized action, great banter, and a rooted- yet surreal- sense of place. Despite all this, Collateral is a little bit forgotten - in that respect, you could say it’s a cousin to another one of Cruise’s out of franchise efforts, 2014’s Edge of Tomorrow. So buckle your seat belts, get some In and Out from the drive through, and get ready to...Cruise...through LA.