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The Fever nightclub

Bill Simmons: The opening cab ride combines Groove Armada, an implausibly empty 105, chemistry, and a rare narcotic feeling of effortless Los Angeles motion.

Bill Simmons: The corpse falling onto the cab is a terrifying first-viewing shock, followed by Cruise’s calm calculation, Max’s panic, and the darkly comic distinction that the fall killed him.

The film

Collateral (2004)

Directed by Michael Mann · Action

120 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Tom Cruise Vincent
Jamie Foxx Max Durocher
Jada Pinkett Smith Annie Farrell
Mark Ruffalo Detective Ray Fanning
Peter Berg Detective Richard Weidner
Bruce McGill Frank Pedrosa
Irma P. Hall Ida Durocher
Barry Shabaka Henley Daniel Baker
Richard T. Jones Traffic Cop #1
Klea Scott Fed #1

Everything from the episode

In the order the hosts got to it. Open a row for the discussion.

38:02

Most Rewatchable Scene

The Fever nightclub

The Fever nightclub

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:02Read transcript
  • The opening cab ride combines Groove Armada, an implausibly empty 105, chemistry, and a rare narcotic feeling of effortless Los Angeles motion. — Bill Simmons
  • The corpse falling onto the cab is a terrifying first-viewing shock, followed by Cruise’s calm calculation, Max’s panic, and the darkly comic distinction that the fall killed him. — Bill Simmons
  • Vincent’s rapid two-chest-one-head recovery of his briefcase establishes his practiced violence. — Bill Simmons
  • Daniel’s Miles Davis story lets Max briefly forget his peril before Vincent kills Daniel, with Barry Shabaka Henley’s expression selling the reversal. — Bill Simmons
  • Bardem controls a tiny role as Felix, while Max implausibly but compellingly learns to impersonate Vincent under pressure. — Bill Simmons
  • The Fever sequence uses hundreds of repeating extras, physical choreography, and Ruffalo’s abrupt death to produce the clear final choice. — Bill Simmons
  • Annie’s dark office pursuit and the subway death use darkness and sound to complete Mann’s preferred confrontation between paired professionals. — Bill Simmons
50:00

What’s Aged the Best?

Cruise’s white-haired villain, the film’s digital-night look, the coyote, the cab setting, Statham’s cameo, and the s...

Cruise’s white-haired villain, the film’s digital-night look, the coyote, the cab setting, Statham’s cameo, and the supporting-world possibilities

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:50:00Read transcript
  • Cruise’s sharklike evil look and trained gun technique remain among his best work. — Bill Simmons
  • A cab, dispatch system, and clean dedicated interior create intimacy that an ordinary rideshare vehicle would not reproduce. — Bill Simmons
  • Jason Statham’s brief airport exchange raises an unresolved Transporter-universe possibility and demand for side-character episodes. — Bill Simmons
  • The unscripted coyote crossing is read through the reported bad-omen meaning attached to a traveler’s path. — Bill Simmons
  • Digital photography that disoriented contemporary viewers now looks singular and current, while the performances stay restrained. — Bill Simmons
54:34

What’s Aged the Worst?

The hospital slowdown, Annie’s route, Pete Berg’s sleepy part, Ruffalo’s goatee and slicked hair, and Max’s instant c...

The hospital slowdown, Annie’s route, Pete Berg’s sleepy part, Ruffalo’s goatee and slicked hair, and Max’s instant confidence before Felix

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:34Read transcript
  • The stretch between Daniel’s club and Fever loses momentum around the hospital. — Bill Simmons
  • Annie’s proposed route through La Brea and Sixth is challenged as a large loop rather than a useful shortcut. — Bill Simmons
  • Pete Berg’s character is reduced to tiredness, skepticism, and apparent reluctance to leave bed. — Chris Ryan
  • Ruffalo’s dated goatee-and-slicked-hair combination distracts from a performance that otherwise recalls his edgier early career. — Chris Ryan
  • Max becomes implausibly adept at manipulating Felix and a room of armed men despite his terror shortly before. — Bill Simmons
1:03:03

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

Barry Shabaka Henley

Barry Shabaka Henley

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:03Read transcript
  • The hosts consider renaming the whole award for McGill but decide he may be too recognizable as himself. — Bill Simmons
  • Statham is excluded because he is already a star rather than a That Guy. — Bill Simmons
1:04:04

The Ruffalo / Hanna / Rubinek / Partridge Overacting Award

Cruise’s “notes behind the notes” intensity in Daniel’s jazz club

Cruise’s “notes behind the notes” intensity in Daniel’s jazz club

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:04:04Read transcript
  • Ruffalo’s facial hair is jokingly proposed as overacting even while his actual performance is praised. — Chris Ryan
1:05:11

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Javier Bardem

Javier Bardem

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:11Read transcript
1:07:17

Apex Mountain

The unusually clear 105 freeway and possibly pre-L.A.-Live Los Angeles are the only plausible apexes; none of the pri...

The unusually clear 105 freeway and possibly pre-L.A.-Live Los Angeles are the only plausible apexes; none of the principal artists peak here.

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:07:17Read transcript
  • Fox peaks later with Ray, and Cruise, Mann, Ruffalo, Bardem, and Jada all have stronger power or performance cases elsewhere. — Chris Ryan
  • The empty 105 wins the joke apex because it has never looked clearer. — Bill Simmons
1:12:04

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

A ten-episode adaptation

A ten-episode adaptation

In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:04Read transcript
  • The side-character world already discussed makes the expansion feel natural despite the original story’s compactness. — Bill Simmons
1:14:04

Who Won the Movie?

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise

In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:14:04Read transcript
  • Michael Mann is the strongest alternative, with Foxx assigned the notional third star. — Bill Simmons
  • Cruise’s villain performance wins both audible choices and is framed as the end of one version of his career before it changes the following year; no additional panel vote is inferred. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
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Tom Cruise
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