Laughable

Rating: Null/10 (29 November 2004)

Let's get the praise out of the way first. Cruise and Foxx did excellent jobs playing their respective roles. Time and time again Cruise reminded me of Jean Reno in "The Professional." Good stuff.
But sadly, actors don't make a movie. The plot made me laugh out loud many times, which probably wasn't what the writer was going for. The ultra-professional contract killer accidentally lets the body fall onto the cab? He puts the body in the trunk and then continues riding around in a cab with blood on the smashed roof/windshield? He continues riding around with a complete stranger who just witnessed him kill a man? He tells the complete stranger the details of his job, instead of making up a story? And that's one of the first few scenes! Please show me, the viewer, a little respect and at least try to entertain me. And by entertain I do not mean laugh.
So many people have praised the directing of Michael Mann. While yes, "Heat" was an amazing movie and he did an excellent job with that, this is not that movie. Unnecessarily stylish camera angles jerk you out of the moment and remind you that this is a movie and a camera is right behind the actors. Isn't the director's goal to put you in the movie, get you caught up in it, so you forget that you're sitting in a theater? Yeah, I thought so too.
4/10, and all 4 of those points go to Cruise and Foxx.