Collateral

Cab driver Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) finds himself drawn into a deadly game when he drives U.S. Justice Department prosecutor Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett Smith) to her office as she prepares for an important drug indictment case. Before long, Vincent (Tom Cruise), a mysterious passenger, enters Max’s cab and hands him a staggering $6000 to chauffeur him through five different appointments.

As Max nervously awaits at the first stop, he is shocked to see Vincent enter an apartment complex, only to emerge moments later with the body of drug dealer Ramone Ayala, who unexpectedly lands on Max’s cab—revealing Vincent to be a hired assassin. Forced to comply with Vincent’s orders, Max must dispose of the body, clean the cab, and continue on this horrific journey. Just when police arrive to investigate the damaged vehicle, they are redirected to a higher priority call, allowing Vincent to keep his dark secret hidden.

Max becomes a pawn in Vincent’s violent agenda as he witnesses the cold-blooded murder of attorney Sylvester Clarke. After a failed attempt to seek help from bystanders, who instead rob him, Max is further dragged into Vincent’s chaos. The situation escalates when Vincent insists on visiting Max’s mother, Ida (Irma P. Hall), in the hospital, where he pretends to be one of Max’s colleagues. Disturbed by this unexpected camaraderie, Max runs off in a panic, discarding Vincent’s briefcase into the depths of a freeway.

With Vincent’s target list destroyed, the stakes skyrocket as he coerces Max into confronting drug lord Felix Reyes-Torrena (Javier Bardem). Posing as Vincent, Max meets Felix, successfully obtaining a USB flash drive that holds the names of the remaining targets. Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Ray Fanning (Mark Ruffalo) makes a critical connection between the murders and the indictment case against Felix, prompting him to alert the authorities.

As they converge on the nightclub where Peter Lim, the final target, is located, chaos erupts when Vincent eliminates Lim and all of his guards, leaving a trail of violence in his wake. Fanning tries to save Max amidst the chaos but falls victim to Vincent’s wrath. In a gripping confrontation, Max seizes control by crashing the cab deliberately, revealing the corpse hidden in the trunk to the officers that arrive on the scene.

Realizing Annie is Vincent’s next victim, Max races against time to reach her, overpowering law enforcement and bursting into her office just in time to save her by shooting Vincent. With suspense building, they board a metro rail train, pursued by their relentless assailant. As tensions peak, Max’s final act of defiance results in a climactic shootout where he manages to fatally injure Vincent.

In the aftermath, Vincent’s lifeless body slumps down, repeating a haunting anecdote he had shared earlier about a man unnoticed on a train for six hours. As dawn breaks, Max and Annie step off at the next station, having survived a night filled with terror and violence, signaling the beginning of a new chapter in their lives.

Last Updated: November 08, 2024 at 00:09