Slick not special

Rating: 5/10 (25 September 2004)

Mann is one of the premiere movie makers of today. I can't help but think that he's slightly more interested in the craft than the end product. It's hard not to be impressed by this visually, but the script and arguably the acting are not to the same standard.
The story is almost solely about the interactions between Vincent (Cruise playing the bad guy for a change) and Max (Foxx) who is a mild mannered taxi driver. The longer he spends with Vincent the more streetwise Max becomes, but this doesn't quite ring true, since I'm sure any taxi driver that's worked for 12 years will have had a few nasty moments.
This film makes LA look far more beautiful than it really is and it's quite clear that Mann loves the place. If the acting and script were up to the standard of the photography I'd give this a 10 but as it is I'll give it 7/10.