One of the best movies this year---9/10

Rating: 9/10 (15 September 2004)

Collateral is one of the best films of 2004. Now i admit, i haven't seen too many this year. But there just wasn't much to see. Collateral is a movie i have been looking forward to for some time because it goes back to the days where a movie can take place in the current times and not feature CGI armies clashing while orchestra music plays. It is about characters, plot twists, and atmosphere. These are the elements that suck you into a movie. And Michael Mann know it. Not to mention he has a great cast to work with. In probably his best work to date, Tom Cruise plays Vincent, a hit-man with an itinerary that must be cleared before dawn. I always knew Cruise was a good actor, apparent in movies like Top Gun, Minority Report, and A Few Good Men (in which he was especially good). But i never knew he could pull of an outstanding performance, and yet he does just that in Collateral. Who knew he just had to try being a bad guy for once? He did receive a little help from Jaime Foxx, who plays cab driver Max, Vincent's unwilling hostage. Foxx's equally impressive performance plays off of Cruise's and vice versa. I knew Jaime Foxx could be a great actor when i saw him in Ali, also by Michael Mann.
The script is full of great dialogue, ("Don't do anything stupid. You don't have the trunk space") and plenty of tense situations that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The shootout in the disco, the mugging of Max while tied to the steering wheel, and max trying to pass as a hit-man himself are all classic scenes that i can watch over and over. This is a slickly directed, superbly acted, and nail-bitingly suspenseful film. It's one of the best movies i have seen in a long time. And it's got a Tom Cruise violently killing people. What more could you ask for? 9/10