Interesting; One of the greatest films of the year, and one of the best roles for cruise.

Rating: Null/10 (9 August 2004)

Collateral Opens with Vincent, played by Tom Cruise, as an already mysterious man. He makes an obviously fake exchange of briefcases with Jason Stratman, who pops into the movie as a quick cameo. Although you've seen this type of exchange before, you know that it's going to be a great movie. it cuts to the chase immediately. No lolly gagging, just "Shoot Cruise getting his materials". and that is how Cruise is established in the movie.
We come to Jamie Foxx and get to know him, since we already have a good feeling who Cruise is. Foxx plays Max, a cabbie who dreams of making a very exclusive and terrific limousine company. He gets his last fare just before He picks up the mysterious Cruise. The fare, who is Jada Pinkett Smith, gets to know her driver and they both gain an attraction.
Pinkett gets dropped off.
Max picks up Vincent. it starts like any other night for Max.
Vincent is revealed through the film as a contract killer who has five stops to make and doesn't intend on letting Max escape him. The fewer people who see and get to know Vincent, the better. Add a team of cops who are pursuing the answers to the murders, and you've got yourself one hell of an interesting and intelligent suspense film.
Cruise has been getting a lot of hype for his performance as Vincent. I couldn't agree more with all the positive comments because he is quite simply astounding. You can't tell that the guy playing Vincent was once the guy who played Nice Guy Jerry Maguire, or dumb but cool pilot Maverick from Top Gun. The Guy you see playing Vincent would strike you as a guy who actually kills people for a living because he is right on the ball in his performance.
As the film progresses, we learn more about why Vincent has the line of work and how he could possibly look at all the violence and all the bloodshed as another day at the office. He's a sinister character with a disturbing set of personalities to his name. And when you get used to one of those personalities, he suddenly breaks out of it and becomes the killer.
I think that Cruise could get an oscar nomination, if not an oscar win. He is so good and so interesting to watch you just feel that he deserves all the positive comments in the world.
Now, I can tell you that this great character has been placed in one of the best films of the year. The plot is consistently interesting and always has you wondering if someones going to do this action or that. Even the cops are interesting to watch as they try and figure out whose killing all these people. Overall, once you see Vincent get that briefcase in the beginning there is always a sense of suspense in the air.
****/****