How credible is the ending of Collateral?

Question

Here's what happens at the end of Collateral (2004):

The taxi driver manages to defeat a highly skilled hitman. Is it mere luck?

Should we accept this as a screw-up on the part of the movie makers, or is there something I'm missing?

Answer 1

It's underestimation by Vincent really. Throughout the movie he continued to use Max as the cab driver on the assumption that there is nothing Max would try to do to injure Vincent. For example after shooting in the club incident, Vincent retained control by shooting the FBI agent and telling Max to get back in the car.

The lead up to Vincent's death shows him anxious to finish his last hit as well as maybe a little exhausted from the long night and trying to get on the back of the train. Also there was a short blackout right before Max and Vincent starting shooting at the door. It isn't clear whether the bullet that hit Max did indeed come from the window portion or metal portion of the door.

With all these factors included and allowing the audience to believe in a little luck, I think we can accept the scene as fair reality.

Answer 2

The final shootout has Vincent doing his highly practiced and refined Mozambique Drill (a favorite of Mann, clearly underscored by holes in the train car doors) while Max is shaking and shooting like mad, with his bullets ricocheting through the glass by chance.

Vincent's training may have taken over as it is wont to do and drove him to do the wrong thing in that very niche situation.

Answer 3

I wouldn't call it screw-up but really luck.

I myself especially liked this and found it somehow realistic. Luck is something often regarded unrealistic because we await movies to happen in a predictable way (a taxi driver not having a chance against a trained hitman). But indeed luck is something completely realistic and happening in real life, just not that predictable or probable. So why not just let Max be lucky, Vincent is just a human, too.

In fact Vincent was not defeated in a tactical gunfight where he might play his strengths, but in a more or less surprising situation. It is indeed a bit strange that Max doesn't get a small wound (can't remember in detail, maybe he got) but in this particular situation (the end scene with both standing opposed each other behind the train doors) there wasn't much Vincent could do better with his years of training and experience than count on his luck, like Max.

Answer 4

There's always the possibility that Vincent had begun to like Max and was tired of his line of work. Perhaps Vincent was ready for it to end.

I personally like to think its a combination of this and the other answers.

Answer 5

You can see Max take a small step to the side while he's firing. Perhaps by firing once or twice--giving Vincent a target--and then moving, Vincent ended up firing at the wrong spot.

While this is logical and makes Max look smart, Vincent was unloading his weapon through a small window with Max directly in the path. I really don't see how Max could have remained unscathed other than luck.

Answer 6

This ending was unacceptable because Cruise clearly showed he was a top notch hitman. I'm not gonna believe for one second that he can take out like at least 5 trained Federal agents in the club scene and then get killed by a taxi driver. The transformation of the Jamie Foxx in the movie from an everyday guy to a badass in one night is completely unrealistic.