Surprisingly good

Rating: 7/10 (28 December 2005)

I was pleasantly surprised by this movie. I don't think of Tom Cruise as an action movie kind of guy, even though he's been in films like Days of Thunder and that fighter pilot movie. When I saw he was in this film I was expecting it to suck. However, Cruise pulled off a very sophisticated and cold hit-man character, at least for the first half of the film. Jamie Foxx also did well as the nervous cab driver who becomes Cruise's unwitting accomplice. It's great to see that Foxx can do more than comedy. Foxx gives, in my opinion, a great dramatic performance in this movie.
Unfortunately, by about three quarters of the way through the movie, the characters start to, well, change. Cruise's character in particular loses much of the cool that was so appealing. What we are left with by the end of the movie is a clichéd good guy / bad guy chase scene. But don't let this deter you from seeing the movie.
Last, the cinematography in this movie is beautiful. Everything takes place at night and most of the movie is outside, with the main characters in the cab. I found the movie to be visually stunning.
This isn't an edge of your seat thriller. You won't be biting your nails wondering what is going to happen next. But it is a lot of fun.