Good, interesting, and well thought through.

Rating: 9/10 (10 December 2004)

** BANG, HERE BE SPOILERS **
Recap: Max (Foxx) starts his shift at his "temporary" (since the last 12 years) job as a cab driver. He gets a fare, an attractive woman named Annie (Pinkett Smith). He starts to talk to this woman, more than the usual small talk, and they really connect. She is an prosecutor in the middle of a big case and really stressed out. The ride ends with he giving her a picture he uses to relax, and he of course gets her phone number. The next fare, a middle-aged man (Cruise) is a little strange. He says he has some business to do around the city, and hires Max to be his ride for the night. At their first stop, a man drops on the roof of the cab. Apparently, his fare is a professional hit-man. Max is not so keen to be the driver of a hit-man but is forced at gunpoint. So, their journey begins, an odd relationship evolves between the cold calculating hit-man and his driver as they go on their tour. And then both police and criminals get on their tail.
Comment: An interesting story with some sparks of pure violence in between of long stretches of talk and or different subplots, primarily in Max's cab. It is those stretches that differs this movie from others, and giving it an extra dimension. Both characters are given time to develop and form an odd relationship between them. Max's character is extremely well played by Foxx, and nicely described in the movie (by small details). Cruise is equally good (or better) as hit-man Vincent. In the movie we for once get an evil hit-man that is more than just evil. This character actually has a background, feelings and a depth that is rarely seen in movie bad guys. In addition to the tremendous work on the characters there are more cinematic diamonds. The use of music and sound effects are stellar, with different themes and a fine-tuned relationship between story and music. There are other interesting, sometimes unusual, choices by the director (and crew) in editing and camera shots. Refreshing and very well done. There is also different themes and details in the scenery that it may pay off to pay attention to.
There are some similarities in this move to director Mann's previous movie Heat. This movie is not as good as Heat, because, frankly, Heat was nothing short of brilliant. This movie is still very good, well worth both time and money. I've seen this movie twice now, and I must say that it wasn't until the second time around that I really discovered all the small details, so my advice would be. Watch this, at least once, and pay attention. Don't become passive but search the details, they're there, and they're great.
9/10