5 stops, 5 stars

Rating: 10/10 (6 August 2004)

Once again, Michael Mann proves what a genius he is with his latest effort 'Collateral' starring Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett-Smith and a cameo from Jason Statham. The film starts with a slick intro as to what's going on without giving anything away w/ introductions to the three main characters. Tom Cruise is the anti-hero of the movie, Vincent, a smooth criminal whose line of work requires a straight-to-the-point attitude as well as a 'whatever' type attitude. Tom Cruise brings the traits neccessary to Vincent - cold and calculating - even his VICTIMS shape out what Vince is all about. Jada Pinkett-Smith, with the little screen time she has, is a pivotal character in the film. It would seem like she wasn't really drawn out much but as the story goes on, you see that she plays a big part for a role so small. Jamie Foxx, as Max, damn near almost steals the show from Tom Cruise as an unassuming taxi driver. The situation he's put in thanks to Vincent is like a blessing in disguise type - Even though he is an accidental accomplice, while he is with Vincent - he learns things about himself he never thought was in him [sp]such as the scene when Vincent insists that Max goes to visit his mother[/sp]....
reading some of the comments, I see that some people were able to guess the ending but I honestly didn't try to guess as the movie itself was really unpredictable in between the five stops...
though these tow characters are morally conflicted, there is a big connection. The rest of the supporting cast do their respective jobs but it's the two who were supposed to shine the brightest who really stand out - I remember when Jamie Foxx used to be on in Living Color, and after many years, we get to see how talented he truly is even though I knew he was a good singer as well. he's truly come a long way to land a role with someone as established as Tom Cruise...
Collateral is not to be missed at all
10/10