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Eugene
careful with axes
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Hillsborough, CA
 
2005-05-16, 06:18

In the same vein as Traffic and Collateral, but better than either of those two films, IMO. I guess since mentioning these two films, I'll get my opinions on them out of the way first...

Traffic was pretty straightforward. Other than having a handful of distinct storylines to follow, the storytelling was basic and straightforward. It seemed a little disjoint as a result, but Soderbergh probably didn't want to weave each separate story together unrealistically. Also having the drug trade as the single overlying theme made the film really monotonous at times.

On the other hand, Mann paces Collateral like a typical thriller. You hardly to get a pause to think before people start shooting and getting thrown out windows. Over all, pretty formulaic right down to the final extended chase scene.

So how does Crash stack up? I loved it. It doesn't allow you to get bored, but it doesn't need to use mind-numbing action to keep you attentive. There's so much great interaction/dialogue, I easily ignored the contrivance of all the coincidental bump-ins between the characters. In addition, Crash does everything without an A+ list actor like Michael Douglas or Tom Cruise. Shit, they get away with having Ludacris and Brendan Fraser in a serious role...that's an achievement in itself.

And as usual it's not the headliner who steals the show. Most people are going to associate Don Cheadle with the film, I think. He's the closest to a central character the film has to offer. Others are going to immediately identify Bullock, Phillipe, Fraser, Ludacris, etc. for their level of exposure. The most memorable portrayal in the movie belongs to Michael Pena without question.
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