History Film / Collateral

* BestedByTheInexperienced: Max, a cab driver who has probably never held a gun before that night, manages to get the best of Vincent, an infamous and deadly assassin. Vincent follows his training and shoots perfectly for center mass... only for the bullets to harmlessly embed themselves in the metal section of the train door between the two men. Meanwhile Max shoots wildly, and a lucky shot goes through the window and fatally wounds Vincent.

* ForWantOfANail: Max is zoned out when Vincent first solicits him for a ride; Max calls him back over when Vincent prepares to take another cab.

* ItBeganWithATwistOfFate: Max gets pulled into the plot simply by picking up the wrong passenger.

* AssholeVictim: The muggers who get killed by Vincent. It's hard to feel sorry for them even if the episode displays Vincent's cold-blooded lethality.

* SpiritualSuccessor: For ''Film/{{Heat}}'' as far as mood and setting go. Both are LA centered crime stories directed by Michale Mann, and [[spoiler:end with the death of one of the two stars at the hands of the other]]. Some noticed that Heat [[spoiler:starts on a train and ends at an airport]], while Collateral [[spoiler:is the reverse.]]

** Vincent, for all his talk of adapting, I Ching, Darwin -- acting as Chaos personified -- exclusively uses the [[BoomHeadshot Mozambique Drill]] technique to eliminate his targets. [[spoiler:In the climax, he gets into a blind shoot-out with Max. Vincent's shooting only hits the middle of the carriage doors, but Max's inexperienced, random shots manage to go through the window and hit Vincent.]]

* {{Cameo}}: Creator/JasonStatham pops up to deliver the workups on Vincent's targets.

* RuleOfSymbolism: The infamous coyote scene, possibly hinting at the fundamental differences between Vincent and Max. Max stops the car for a simple stray animal, one that couldn't even really be someone's pet, but nonetheless goes out of his way to avoid killing it, even though hitting it would have no legal or physical consequences. Vincent seems more confused then anything else that Max has stopped, and there's a moment of silence between them afterwards, as Vincent seems to finally pick up on what Max just said to him: he really ''is'' incapable of comprehending an individual's reasons for doing something. His almost awed gaze at Max's head shows that he simply cannot fathom the reason behind Max's actions.

* ContrivedCoincidence:
** In a city of millions, Max just happens to give a taxi ride to a hitman and one of his intended victims on the same night. The stakes become personal when the last intended victim of the hitman is the one that he has a nascent friendship with. See Foreshadowing, below.
** Down to sharing the elevator, Fanning visits the hospital at the same time Vincent and Max visit choose to.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Max and Annie survive the night and Vincent is defeated. However, Max's cab is totaled and many people (including Fanning, who saved Max) were killed throughout the film, and Vincent himself dies a rather tragic death. Then there is the fact that Max is an accessory to the murders even if he wasn't complicit, as well as attacking a cop, stealing a cellphone, and reckless driving. Good thing he saved the life of an attorney because she's going to be busy.]]

* DeathByIrony: Vincent, for all his talk of adapting, I Ching, Darwin -- acting as Chaos personified -- exclusively uses the [[BoomHeadshot Mozambique Drill]] technique to eliminate his targets. [[spoiler:In the climax, he gets into a blind shoot-out with Max. Vincent's shooting only hits the middle of the carriage doors, but Max's inexperienced, random shots manage to go through the window and hit Vincent.]]

** In a city of millions, Max just happens to give a taxi ride to a hitman and one of his intended victims on the same night. The stakes become personal when the last intended victim of the hitman is the one that he has a nascent friendship with.

* CutPhoneLines: Vincent cuts the power and phone line of the building, leaving Annie in the dark and without a way to reach out for help.

* DeathByIrony: Vincent, for all his talk of adapting, I Ching, Darwin -- acting as Chaos personified -- exclusively uses the [[BoomHeadshot Mozambique Drill]] technique to eliminate his targets, [[spoiler:allowing Max to get the better of him in a blind shoot-out as his specific shooting routine only hits the carriage door where as Max's inexperienced random shots manage to get past the obstruction and hit Vincent.]]

** Early on, Vincent complains about how much he hates LA, and how impersonal and disconnected everyone is, to the point that he heard a story about a man who died on the MTA, and whose corpse went unnoticed for six hours before anyone realized he was dead. [[spoiler:At the end of the film, he dies, alone on a train car, sitting upright and well-dressed, in the wee hours of the morning... where no one is likely to find him for hours.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: At the end of the film, [[spoiler:Max ends up killing Vincent with the latter's own [=USP45=]]]. In addition, [[spoiler:Vincent's attempt to use his signature Mozambique Drill backfires, causing the bullets to hit the steel barrier and thus preventing him from killing Max first]].

* SpiritualSuccessor: For ''Film/{{Heat}}'' as far as mood and setting go. Both are LA centered crime stories and [[spoiler:end with the death of one of the two stars at the hands of the other]].

* TemptingFate: When Vincent has [[spoiler: Annie]] at his mercy, Max appears, in a BigDamnHeroes moment, Vincent stupidly asks him, "What are you gonna do about it?" only to get a bullet through his ear ''from his own gun''.

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: The film portrays Max's attempts to get his fares to their location as quickly as possible as an altruistic move that costs him money. In reality, cab drivers earn more from mileage than time, so they get more money by completing fares quickly and then getting more fares. Getting stuck in traffic costs ''them'' money.

* TemptingFate: When Vincent has [[spoiler: Annie]] at his mercy, Max appears, in a BigDamnHeroes moment, Vincent stupidly asks him, "What are you gonna do about it?" only to get a bullet in his neck ''from his own gun''.

* BottomlessMagazines: Strongly averted: Vincent reloads frequently, and even Max has to count his bullets.

* EvilCannotComprehendGood: See RuleOfSymbolism.
* ExpectingSomeoneTaller: When meeting Max, posing as Vincent, Felix greets him with the words "I thought you'd be taller". This is even more hilarious if you remember that Tom Cruise's Vincent would be 5'7 to Foxx's 5'9.

* FatBastard: Peter Lim, who like a human Jabba refusing or even unable to move from his seat even while there's an entire gunfight going around him.

* MuggingTheMonster: In one scene a couple of thugs steal a briefcase from a ziptied-up Max. Vincent confronts the two, one of whom brandishes a pistol right at him. A few double-taps to the chest and one in the head later, Vincent has his briefcase back.

* OrderVersusChaos: Vincent representing reaction and chaos taken to an extreme, while Max represents an almost obsessive level of order and control. In the end, a balance must be struck.

** Max levels up and delivers a ''blistering'' one to Vincent right before crashing the car. Max tells him that he couldn't connect with anyone if his life depended on it and that he's like someone who grew up institutionalized without experiencing any normal human interactions at all. Watch Vincent's face during this. It's plain that what Max is saying is hitting him ''hard'' and he's barely keeping himself together.
** Vincent then turns around and smacks ''Max'' with an equally brutal one (see above), tearing into him for not having the courage to take any risks and make something of himself, or even call a girl he likes, even comparing Max's voluntary stagnation to "murder". Somewhat bites him in the ass, since [[spoiler:it seems to get to Max so much that he shifts gears into "badass" and deliberately wrecks the cab to halt Vincent's killing spree]].

* ArtisticLicenseEconomics: The film portrays Max's attempts to get his fares to their location as quickly as possible as an altruistic move that costs him money. In reality, cab drivers earn more from mileage than time, so they get more money by completing fares quickly and then getting more fares. Getting stuck in traffic ''costs'' them money.

* AssholeVictim: "You attract attention, you're going to get people killed who didn't need to be." But man, is it hard to feel sorry for ''those'' guys... More specifically, when Vincent ties Max to the steering wheel to make sure he doesn't drive away while Vincent takes care of business, Max honks the horn that draws some people to his predicament. Unfortunately, they turn out to be muggers who at first don't even ''notice'' Max is tied to the steering wheel and demand his wallet while holding him at gunpoint and despite no reason still continue to make threats at him as they take his money and Vincent's briefcase. Then Vincent shows up...

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Max and Annie survive the night and Vincent is defeated. However, Max's cab is totaled and many people (including Fanning who saved Max) were killed throughout the film and Vincent himself dies a rather tragic death. Then there is the fact that Max is an accessory to the murders even if he wasn't complicit, as well as attacking a cop, stealing a cellphone, and reckless driving. Good thing he saved the life of an attorney because she's going to be busy.]]

* [[MeleeATrois Mêlée à Quatre]]: In the nightclub during the fourth hit: Max and Vincent (with Max standing in for Vincent while Vincent follows him) vs some mafiosos (who were sent after 'Vincent' just in case the hit goes wrong) vs the LAPD (who try to both protect the victim and locate Vincent and his supposed partner-in-crime) vs the victim's bodyguards (who start firing at everyone with a gun). It helps that the room is completely cramped with panicking party-goers and the lights go on and off.

** It's been pointed out that the coyotes themselves resemble Max and Vincent, in a way. The first coyote is clearly skittish, looking about nervously and crossing the road swiftly (Max). The second coyote (Vincent) is following the first one and moves at a steady, unhurried pace.

Enter Vincent (Creator/TomCruise), who commandeers Max's taxi. He is the [[YinYangClash chaotic counterpart]] to Max's carefully structured world. A jazz aficionado, he preaches Darwinism and improvisation. He's jaded by the city, hates the overpopulation and the filth. Oh yeah, and he also happens to be a hitman for a private military company. And for one night, the cabbie and the assassin find themselves inescapably bound together.