History YMMV / Collateral

* AwardSnub: Creator/TomCruise wasn't nominated for an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward despite being highly praised for his performance.

** Creator/JavierBardem plays the man who hires Vincent, and would himself eventually go on to play and win an Oscar for [[Literature/NoCountryForOldMen one of the most iconic and frightening hitmen in cinematic history.]]

* RelationshipWritingFumble: More like an acting-fumble. Related to the HoYayShipping[=/=]FoeYayShipping above, some of the scenes between Max and Vincent come off as less Max is being held hostage and more this a new relationship where Max is being cautious and trying to take things slow while Vincent is already heavily invested. The hospital scene where Vincent insists on buying flowers for Max's mother, says he likes to think of himself as Max's ''friend'', and is all for hearing about Max from Ida until a clearly embarrassed, irritated Max steals his important briefcase is probably the best example. Up until the ensuing chase scene, the scene could easily fit into a romantic genre film. Even the scene directly before it where Max refuses, "I'm not taking you to see my mother," and Vincent responds, "Since when was any of this negotiable?" comes off as less 'nope, not taking a hitman to see my mother/dude, I can easily turn you into one of my targets,' and more, 'I'm not taking this white guy I just started dating to see my sick, old mother/I'm going to meet your mother, and she's going to love me. We're boyfriends, and that means you don't get to keep me out of the truly important parts of your life.'

* SpiritualAdaptation: A ruthless, unstoppable killer tracking down victims on the streets of L.A. at night? This film really reminded a lot of viewers of Film/TheTerminator, particularly the nightclub shoot-out. In fact, James Cameron originally intended the Terminator to be a normal looking guy so he'd blend into crowds better (he originally wanted to cast Lance Henriksen), so Michael Mann arguably made an homage to his original concept.

* FridgeBrilliance: Max waits for Vincent to draw his gun before crashing the car, so that way it would come loose in the aftermath.

** Javier Bardem plays the man who hires Vincent, and would himself eventually go on to play and win an Oscar for [[Literature/NoCountryForOldMen one of the most iconic and frightening hitmen in cinematic history.]]
** At one point in the movie, Tom Cruise's character [[Film/TropicThunder grabs Max's cab radio and starts making threats at the guy at the other side of the line.]]
** Jamie Foxx is playing a [[Film/TheAmazingSpiderMan2 mild mannered guy named Max who is pushed over the edge and takes a level in badass.]]

* AwardSnub: Creator/TomCruise wasn't nominated at all despite being highly praised for his performance.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Does Vincent really believe, deep down, that absolutely everything is meaningless, people are irrelevant and that morality has no value whatsoever? Or has he deluded himself into this belief so he can live with his job, in the [[NotSoDifferent same way Max deludes himself]] that he's happy with his job? The fact that Vincent shows [[NotSoStoic signs of being upset]] when [[ShutUpHannibal called out]], and his decision to [[spoiler: stop fighting Max after being wounded]] suggest he perhaps isn't as certain about his lifestyle as he appears at first.

* JerkassWoobie: Arguably, Vincent himself has shades of this. He murders people for a living and [[AffablyEvil doesn't seem to care at first]]. Unlike many traditional villains, however, he shows some self-awareness and sometimes subtle flashes of self-doubt. His incredibly bleak and nihilistic outlook on the world probably means his life is [[NotSoDifferent actually more hollow, shallow and empty than Max's]] even though he [[JerkassHasAPoint likes to give him life advice]]. [[spoiler: His final words are essentially a comment on how he feels his own life and death was completely meaningless, further suggesting he might have always been unhappy with the direction of his life.]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: A ruthless, unstoppable killer tracking down victims on the streets of L.A. at night? This film really reminded a lot of viewers of Film/TheTerminator, particularly the nightclub shoot-out. In fact, James Cameron originally intended the Terminator to be a normal looking guy so he'd blend into crowds better (he originally wanted to cast Lance Henriksen), so Michael Mann arguably made an homage to his original concept.
** To ''Film/{{Heat}}''. Both are crime noir's set in L.A. Also, ''Heat'' begins at the subway and ends at the airport, while ''Collateral'' begins at the airport and ends on the subway.

* {{Fanon}}: A common bit of viewer speculation is that the unnamed man played by Creator/JasonStatham who pops up in a cameo at the beginning to give Vincent his current assignment is the same character that Statham plays in ''Film/TheTransporter'' and its sequels.

* ShockingMoments: The famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiqwF_Y9S5Q briefcase scene]]. [[ImprobableAimingSkills Vincent draws, and then fires five aimed shots, in 1.5 seconds]]. (Even more terrifying: that was not CGI, a stunt man, or slo-mo. Creator/TomCruise trained for that scene and then performed it reel-for-reel.)

** To ''Film/{{Heat}}''. Both are crime noir's set in L.A. Also, Heat begins at the subway and ends at the airport. Whilst Collateral begins at the airport and ends on the subway.

* HolyShitQuotient: The famous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiqwF_Y9S5Q briefcase scene]]. [[ImprobableAimingSkills Vincent draws, and then fires five aimed shots, in 1.5 seconds]]. (Even more terrifying: that was not CGI, a stunt man, or slo-mo. Creator/TomCruise trained for that scene and then performed it reel-for-reel.)

* EvilIsCool: Vincent dresses himself in some [[BadassInANiceSuit badass threads]], is dangerously efficient as his [[ProfessionalKiller job]] ([[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UiqwF_Y9S5Q case in point]]), has a fairly extensive knowledge of jazz, and is pretty friggin' [[EvilIsSexy handsome]]. But as the film goes on, it's shown how empty and messed up he is.

* SpiritualSuccessor: A ruthless, unstoppable killer tracking down victims on the streets of L.A. at night? This film really reminded a lot of viewers of TheTerminator, particularly the nightclub shoot-out. In fact, James Cameron originally intended the Terminator to be a normal looking guy so he'd blend into crowds better (he originally wanted to cast Lance Henriksen), so Michael Mann arguably made an homage to his original concept.

** Also Detective Fanning. [[spoiler: He was a smart cop, did everything sensibly, nearly rescued an innocent man and instead he [[Irony probably ended up in the same morgue]] as Vincent's earlier victims that day]].

* MagnificentBastard: The enigmatic, philosophical VillainProtagonist "Vincent", is a ruthless yet suave ProfessionalKiller, tasked with eliminating witnesses to the crimes of drug lord Felix Reyes-Torrena. Bribing taxi driver Max Durocher to unwittingly assist him, Vincent has Max transport him while he murders his targets. [[AffablyEvil Genuinely affable]], Vincent respectfully listens to the story of a jazz club owner before offing him and visits Max's sick mother in the hospital, even bringing her flowers. Adapting when Max destroys the files on his targets, Vincent has Max retrieve a new copy from Felix, both keeping his anonymity and leading the police to mistakenly believe Max is him. Fatally wounded by Max while hunting his last target, Vincent chooses to [[FaceDeathWithDignity calmly accept his fate]], giving Max some parting words before passing.

* JerkassWoobie: Arguably, Vincent himself has shades of this. He murders people for a living and [[AffablyEvil doesn't seem to care at first]]. Unlike many traditional villains, however, he shows some self-awareness and sometimes subtle flashes of self-doubt. His incredibly bleak and nihilistic outlook on the world probably means his life is [[NotSoDifferent actually more hollow, shallow and empty than Max's]] even though he [[HippocriteHasAPoint likes to give him life advice]]. [[spoiler: His final words are essentially a comment on how he feels his own life and death was completely meaningless, further suggesting he might have always been unhappy with the direction of his life.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Arguably, Vincent himself has shades of this. He murders people for a living and [[AffablyEvil doesn't seem to care at first]]. Unlike many traditional villains, however, he shows some self-awareness and sometimes subtle flashes of self-doubt. His incredibly bleak and nihilistic outlook on the world probably means his life is [[NotSoDifferent actually more hollow, shallow and empty than Max's]] even though he [[Irony likes to give him life advice]]. [[spoiler: His final words are essentially a comment on how he feels his own life and death was completely meaningless, further suggesting he might have always been unhappy with the direction of his life.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Arguably, Vincent himself has shades of this. He murders people for a living and [[AffablyEvil doesn't seem to care at first]]. Unlike many traditional villains, however, he shows some self-awareness and sometimes subtle flashes of self-doubt. His incredibly bleak and nihilistic outlook on the world probably means his life is [[NotSoDifferent actually more hollow, shallow and empty than Max's]] even though he [[Hypocrite likes to give him life advice]]. [[spoiler: His final words are essentially a comment on how he feels his own life and death was completely meaningless, further suggesting he might have always been unhappy with the direction of his life.]]

** To a lesser extent, Vincent himself. While he's a violent criminal, his incredibly nihilistic outlook on the world probably means his life is actually more hollow than Max's, and certainly less moral. [[spoiler: His final words, essentially commenting on how he feels his own life and death is meaningless and unnoticed, add to this.]]

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Does Vincent really believe, deep down, that absolutely everything is meaningless, people are irrelevant and that morality has no value whatsoever? Or has he deluded himself into this belief so he can live with his job, in the [[NotSoDifferent same way Max deludes himself]] that he's happy with his job? The fact that Vincent shows [[NotSoStoic signs of being upset]] when [[ShutUpHannibal called out]], and his decision to [[spoilers: stop fighting Max after being wounded]] suggest he perhaps isn't as certain about his lifestyle as he appears at first.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Does Vincent really believe, deep down, that absolutely everything is meaningless, people are irrelevant and that morality has no value whatsoever? Or has he deluded himself into this belief so he can live with his job, in the [[NotSoDifferent same way Max deludes himself]] that he's happy with his job? The fact that Vincent shows [[NotSoStoic signs of being upset]] when [[ShutUpHannibal called out]], and his decision to stop fighting Max after being wounded suggest he perhaps isn't as sure of his moral system as he appears at first.

* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Does Vincent really believe, deep down, that absolutely everything is meaningless, people are irrelevant and that morality has no value whatsoever? Or has he deluded himself into this belief so he can live with his job, in the [[NotSoDifferent same way Max deludes himself]] that he's happy with his job? The fact that Vincent shows [[NotSoStoic signs of being upset]] when [[ShutUpHannibal called out], and his decision to stop fighting Max after being wounded suggest he perhaps isn't as sure of his moral system as he appears at first.

* BadassDecay: [[spoiler:Vincent goes from being a cold-calculating hitman who can perform the improbable aiming feat mentioned below to a simple thug with a gun when he goes after Max, a common cabbie. Since the movie didn't want to have a TheBadGuyWins ending, they suddenly gave Vincent a course in the ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy. Possibly justified since Vincent has been ''shot in the ear'' right before the climactic chase, causing him to undergo something of a villanous breakdown.]] In the final shootout on the MTA train, [[spoiler: Vincent's trained, straight shooting ends up hitting the part of the metal door between the two windows, whereas Max's untrained, relatively chaotic shooting ends up penetrating the windows and (eventually) hitting Vincent.]]
* CrowningMusicOfAwesome:

* RootingForTheEmpire: Considering all the other examples on this page, is it any surprise that some fans wanted [[TheBadGuyWins him to win in the end?]]

* LoveToHate: Sensing a pattern here? If not, it's Vincent.