COLLATERAL (4K SteelBook): One For The Collectors

COLLATERAL 

20th Anniversary SteelBook Edition (4K UHD)

2004 / 119 min

FROM PARAMOUNT

Review by Stinky the Destroyer😺

Anyone who already owns Collateral on 4K but aren’t necessarily enamored with SteelBooks can stop reading here. The technical specs and bonus features for this 20th Anniversary Edition are identical the 4K UHD disc released in 2020. This one is strictly for the collectors.

Even then, other than a film quote on the back and shots of its two stars inside, the artwork is the exact same as every other previous Blu-ray or 4K release of Collateral (which was always kind of generic to begin with). Considering the amount of creativity Paramount has put into other recent SteelBooks, such as The Crow & Cloverfield, surely this one deserves better. Besides celebrating an anniversary, it’s one of the best movies Tom Cruise ever did. Same with Jamie Foxx. And Michael Mann, for that matter.

Speaking of which…

The distinction between a hero and a villain can sometimes be a gray area. But for a guy like Tom Cruise, they’re one in the same. 

Not that Vincent, his character in Collateral, would ever be mistaken for a nice guy. He’s a cold-blooded, remorseless and ruthlessly efficient killer-for-hire. However, Cruise doesn’t really play him much differently from his roles as Ethan Hunt or Jack Reacher. There isn’t anything wrong with that, either. He’s always been more fun when giving-up all pretenses of being a real actor to focus on simply being Tom Cruise, which he obviously does better than anyone.

"Gum?"

And he’s a hell of a lot of fun in here. The novelty of watching Cruise use all the acting weapons in his arsenal - physicality, confidence, intensity, karate-hands sprinting - for evil purposes makes him a uniquely enjoyable antagonist. There are times during Vincent’s one-night assassination tour when we almost feel compelled to root for him. So it’s fortunate for the movie that Jamie Foxx is so damn likable. As congenial cab driver Max Durocher - forced to drive Vincent to his targets - he gives the character proportionate measures of uncertainty, vulnerability and fortitude. Max’s humanity is the perfect foil to Vincent’s mercilessness.

Collateral also remains director Michael Mann’s last great film, which I tend to look at as sort-of a companion piece to Heat. In addition to dynamic protagonists & antagonists, Los Angeles is practically a supporting character, with Mann making great use of various nighttime locations. His attention to such peripheral aesthetic and expository details give the virtuosic action sequences considerable dramatic heft.

I’m not-yet completely sold on the virtues of 4K for every movie. The film looks pretty damn good here, but then again, so did the original Blu-ray. There are differences, of course, but some that only discerning eyes might notice. However, Collateral itself is one of the best action movies of the 2000s and a rare opportunity for Tom Cruise to get his dark side on. That alone makes it essential viewing.

Whether or not this 4K SteelBook is essential is another matter. Unless you’re the kind of person who buys hardcover versions of beloved paperbacks you already own, it might seem a little superfluous.

EXTRA KIBBLES

4K, BLU-RAY & DIGITAL COPIES

“CITY OF NIGHT: THE MAKING OF COLLATERAL” - A lengthy and interesting behind-the-scenes documentary.

FEATURETTES - “Special Delivery” (Cruise goes out in public as a FedEx driver; that’d be a fun movie unto itself); “”Shooting on Location: Annie’s Office”; “Tom Cruise & Jamie Foxx Rehearse” (in the director’s office and in a cut-away car); “Visual FX: MTA Train” (a lot more work went into this scene than you’d expect)

AUDIO COMMENTARY - By director Michael Mann

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TRAILERS