There are six billion people on the planet and you're getting bent out of shape cause of one fat guy?

Rating: 8/10 (18 August 2008)

The name Tom Cruise has become synonymous with the word 'wooden' over the last few years, a label not unfairly bestowed considering he's never really starred in a world class film, yet remains one of the highest paid movie affiliates of all time. He innately performs extremely similar roles in all his films, the virtuous and admirable American hero that all women love and that all men want to be. So it comes as a surprise to learn that he takes on a rare villainous role in this film, the role of a sociopathic hit-man tasked with murdering five people in a nights work. Jamie Foxx is cast as the routine taxi driver with aspirations to become something more, but is held back lack of ambition and a reliance on security and routine.
Even more surprising than Tom Cruise' role is the fact that this is the finest performance he's ever committed to a film. His depiction as the brutally proficient killer is scarily inspiring. He underplays his role, abandoning his self imposing demeanour for simple efficiency and the end result is that he makes a one man army capable of engaging multiple opponents and defeating them all seem very believable. His execution of the Mozabique drill is highly accurate and it's inclusion gives Vincent a higher degree of realism that if he was merely blindly shooting his way through scores of assailants without injury like any standard Bond film. The rare interludes that provide his philosophical insight into sociology also give Vincent that extra depth that separates him from the standard action villain.
Jamie Foxx similarly provides an excellent contribution through his subtle portrayal of an average cabbie thrust into a mortally threatening situation where the slightest mistake would undoubtedly result in his death. His initial bewilderment to the situation is excellently executed, as is his careful transition to assertive man of action, influenced by his constant proximity to Vincent. The relationship between him and Cruise gives the film a certain degree of depth rarely committed to the action thriller genre. The whole film is ridden with carefully laden undertones depicting the delicate balance between planning and improvisation that dominate everyones life. Both characters are extremes of each, and their struggle to irrevocably find a balance between them is superbly scripted.
Furthermore, Michael Manns directing is nothing short of stellar. His mix up of camera shots and fast edit cuts give the film a excellently balanced pace, involving the audience with the quick transition through scenes but not storming through the film at such a pace that it compromises necessary detail.
Overall this is an excellent film definitely worth watching, one which Tom Cruise undoubtedly deserved an Oscar Nomination for but bafflingly failed to receive.
8.3/10