Best movie of the summer!

Rating: 10/10 (17 September 2004)

Michael Mann is a master of realism. Movies don't get much better than this. Collateral is a movie that has a little something for everyone. It has extremely entertaining action for the action fan, it has subtle humor for the Jamie Foxx fans, it has hard drama for those fans who like to believe what they are seeing could actually happen, but the best feature of this movie had to be its suspense. Mann had me on the edge of my seat from the opening scene of the film to the very end. Tom Cruise of course handed in another impeccable performance. It was actually quite refreshing to see him as the anti-hero. However, being a big TC fan, I continually found myself cheering for him. Tom makes you believe that the character Vincent is real. Mark Ruffalo gave in a star-turning performance as the lead detective hunting down Foxx and Cruise. This is the kind of role that will turn him into a strong supporting star for many years to come. Ruffalo also made you believe that his character Detective Raymond Fanning was a real person and Ruffalo made him very easy to relate to. Michael Mann of course made all of this happen through his masterful camera-work and location filming. Mann is a master of on site filming and makes you feel as though you are in the cab with Cruise and Foxx during a normal LA nite. Mann's past experiences with Manhunter and Heat are relevant in this film and made it more enjoyable to watch. Last but not least is Jamie Foxx. Jamie played the unbelievably real cab driver Max Durocher. 3/4 of the way through, Foxx stole this movie. His character had an epiphany and I soon found myself cheering for his character of Max. This is the kind of role that will put Foxx in the position of starring roles for many years to come. Mann was also able to amp up the feel of this movie with an unbelievable soundtrack, featuring a bone chilling hit from Audioslave, Shadow on the Sun. The audio in this movie is second to none and the soundtrack is a great investment. Mann's signature camera-work was a joy to watch; which is probably why I already went to see it three times. His scene with the coyotes was the best scene in movies all summer. It gave me goosebumps and let me know that something big was about to happen. It's not often that a director can evoke such emotion from such an intelligent viewer. Overall, this was probably the best movie of the summer. Mann did nothing wrong. His mix of characters and actors portraying them perfectly,his haunting soundtrack, stunning visuals, masterful camera-work and real-life dialog make this movie one which will imitated and looked up to for decades to come.