Scott Dolan (Grillo), a wealthy businessman, is on his honeymoon in Morocco with his lovely bride, Taylor (Alexander). Yet she is bored as, instead of paying attention to her he is on his phone. Feelings hurt, she slinks away, where she meets up with Travis (Charlie Brewly), who, judging by the way she greets him, she’s seen him before. We learn that the next day Travis is supposed to follow the couple as they go on an excursion, draw Scott into a fight and kill him. Talk about a horrible wedding gift.
Starting off promisingly, COLLISION is a film that soon becomes a retread of itself. During the aforementioned excursion, Scott and Taylor end up being chased across the desert and, in an attempt to allude their tormentor, begin flying over the dunes. Unfortunately on the other side of one of the dunes are a couple of vehicles which Scott, and then Travis, plow into, destroying the cars and killing several people. After everyone at the scene regroups, Scott and Taylor are injured but mobile, Travis is unconscious and the only survivors of the caravan are a woman with a baby and a mysterious man who looks like he doesn’t belong. And so begins the intermittingly enjoyable, yet eventually stalled, story of COLLISION.
What hurts the film, in my opinion, is the fact that most of the story takes place about five feet off of the main road that EVERYONE uses. I find it hard to believe that Scott and Travis were the only two drivers that day, only running into the caravan when Scott deviates from the road. Surely someone – somewhere – would have seen the smoke from the fiery accident. Happening along is another man (Roschdy Zem) who claims his motorcycle broke down approximately two miles away. Thankfully he was able to walk to the smoke in the hot desert, especially in the hot black leather jacket he continues to wear throughout the film. Once he arrives we learn that the woman’s child is not hers and that the mysterious man is a diamond thief wanted by INTERPOL We also learn that Scott is no dummy and that Travis is actually on HIS payroll. All in all, it’s a very messy situation made hard to accept.
Director (and writer) Marconi penned such successful films in the past as ENEMY OF THE STATE and LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD, but this is only his second film as a director. That fact that it was more than two decades between directing jobs explains the films lack of pace. Which is sad because the opening 20 minutes, including the desert chase, were very well put together. There was excitement and apprehension, which all went away much too quickly. I would recommend that, like in his successful screenplays, he keeps his characters constantly moving. Once they stop to talk the film dies.
The film does take great advantage of its desert setting and the surrounding areas. Too bad director Marconi overstays his welcome at each one.
COLLISION BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: Presented in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio, the film is not, in my opinion, as bright as a film shot mostly outside should look. The colors, and performers, are subdued, which is quite unusual when filmed directly under the hot sun.
Audio: Presented in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, the film is in English. There is some Arabic spoken but it is presented with English subtitles. The sound is clear and the constantly overlapping dialogue is not distorted.
Interview with Writer/Director David Marconi (17:50): According to Marconi, a lot of the things that happen in the film actually happened to him over the years. I hope that wasn’t the cast with “Live Free or Die Hard.”
Interviews with actors Frank Grillo, Jamie Alexander, Roschdy Zem, Marie Josee Croze and Moussa Maaskri (4:36): Five of the six main actors hurriedly talk about their characters and the film.
Theatrical trailer.