COLLIDE

In COLLIDE, Hagen Kahl is a suave philanthropist and owner of one of Germany’s largest trucking companies. Though he has a positive public persona, he is known among law enforcement as the country’s biggest drug kingpin. Every six months, one of his trucks makes a secret delivery of cocaine to Cologne, which Hagen’s partner in crime, Geran, then sells on the street. Geran is a Turkish gangster with a penchant for living in his pajamas, surrounding himself with prostitutes and binging on Hollywood movies. It’s a lifestyle the refined Hagen finds repulsive. So, when Geran asks for equal partnership in the business, Hagen turns Geran down and insults him in the process.

One of Geran’s employees is a young American, Casey Stein, whose primary drug customers are found in a particular Cologne nightclub. One night he spots an American bartender, Juliette, across the room, and falls in love at first sight. He asks her out, but Juliette is onto what he does for a living, so she declines his offer.

However, Juliette gives Casey an ultimatum:  Give up his life of crime, and she’ll give him a chance. Casey chooses love over money, and gets a job working in a junk yard. The two move in together, but one day Juliette suffers a seizure. She reveals to Casey she has a life-threatening disease that can only be cured with a kidney transplant. Such a procedure is impossible in Germany, and she needs $200,000 to pay for it if she were to go back to the United States.

Devastated by the news, Casey decides to return to Geran and accept a job that will pay $250,000. If he’s successful, he can save Juliette’s life and secure a future with her. In an act of revenge, Geran gives Casey the task of heisting one of Hagen’s trucks carrying drugs. Casey takes the job against Juliette’s wishes and carefully plans a sophisticated operation that will outsmart Hagen.

The heist proves successful, but Hagen is hot on Casey’s trail. An army of Hagen’s henchmen chase him through the streets of German cities, and there are a series of car chases on the Autobahn. Just when he thinks he’s in the clear, Casey’s worst nightmare comes true when he learns Juliette’s been kidnapped by Hagen, who’s using her as bait.

What seems like a promising thriller in the beginning unfortunately gets more and more ridiculous as the end draws near. The plot makes sense to a certain degree, and, at least, the car chases don’t feel like unnecessary token action scenes. However, things are all too easy for Casey. He manages to dodge several hundred bullets without being hit once, and despite crashing into multiple cars and structures, a stolen BMW comes out looking none the worse for wear. Whenever one car is totaled, a fresh new luxury car is always readily available for Casey to use to continue the chase. The guns get bigger and more dangerous as time passes, culminating in a rain of machine gunfire from several dozen police who decide to throw caution to the wind in a hostage situation. COLLIDE becomes so unrealistic that it sometimes turns laughable.

Though the bad guys are held accountable for their crimes, Casey apparently doesn’t count as a bad guy according to COLLIDE’s filmmakers. They use his love for Juliette as justification for involvement in drug crimes. Perhaps because he rats out Hagen to the police, they feel that’s enough moral justification to satisfy a happy ending. Casey calls his crime a “crazy thing in life” that he’s doing for love. He thinks, if the reason’s love, “maybe it’s not crazy after all.”

[SPOILER ALERT] The police eventually make a plea deal to keep Casey out of prison, but he still gets away with stealing the drug money, which he and Juliette use to start a new life together. Also, at one point, Hagen accuses Geran of not being virtuous enough to be his equal. It’s interesting hearing a criminal lecture another criminal about virtue. COLLIDE also contains some alcohol, implied fornication, intense violence, brief foul language, references to prostitution, and a quick image of sexual nudity. So, all in all, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.