COLLATERAL gets commended

Script is reviewed for new Tom Cruise movie

By Patrick Sauriol     May 28, 2004
Source: Screenwriter's Voice

If the trailer for Michael Mann's COLLATERAL caught your eye, a positive review of the film's script over at Screenwriter's Voice is worth your read. While the draft that the Voice reviewer grades is a couple of years old (the action here is set in New York City instead of Los Angeles where events now happen), the site feels safe to say that Stuart Beattie's screenplay will deliver a tightly wound thriller people will enjoy.

"This story works quite well told quickly, has a similar feel to PHONE BOOTH and goes everywhere it needs to go in order to unfold," writes "T.H." in their assessment of the draft. "Beattie uses a minimal of characters, writes in some turning points that are truly unexpected, but not overblown 'twists'; and he truly manages to create an interesting tone."

For those unfamiliar with COLLATERAL, the film stars Tom Cruise as a hitman and Jamie Foxx as his "collateral", a cabbie who's been forced to take the killer through the city as he carries out assassinations. The hitman has promised that if the driver does what he asks he'll be let go unharmed, but will he live up to that promise or should the cabbie make a run for it?

Click here to read the COLLATERAL screenplay review, and if you like what you see, count the days down until the picture opens on August 6.


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