A first-rate thriller all the way.

Rating: 9/10 (4 June 2008)

This film has opened up new paths for many. The two biggest paths opened up are those for lead actors Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, who both give outstanding performances and should get similar roles in the future. AS for the film itself, this is suspense at its finest art form. It opens up simple, with very little action and lots of close-ups to get familiar with the surroundings. Then, the characters meet. Vincent (Cruise), is a killer hired to make five stops in one night, so he hires Max (Foxx), a cab driver to chauffeur him around Los Angeles until 6 am. You would think that nothing too outrageous will happen, but eventually Max finds out Vincent's line of work and the police are on their trail as well.
This is a terrific film, filled with exceptional performances, excellent writing, and marvelous directing by Michael Mann that holds us in suspense just long enough to finish the story, but not too long that we begin to not care. All elements come together to make this a first-rate thriller in every way. The ending is satisfying and the scenes leading up to it are heart-pounding. See this film if only for the mesmerizing performance by Tom Cruise. Cold, ruthless, and completely lost in his work, this performance is one of the very best in modern movies. For that matter, this whole film is one of the best of the decade.