Gripping Suspense and Some Great Performances

Rating: 9/10 (17 November 2008)

At this point, I haven't had a good deal of exposure to Michael Mann's films. The only film of his I'd seen before this was 1986's "Manhunter" and I wasn't all that impressed, but "Collateral" blew me away. It's an intense, character-driven thriller that had me hooked to the screen from the Cruise's arrival at the airport in the opening scene. The concept of the film itself is simple: Vincent is a hit-man who hires/forces cab-driver Max to drive him around Los Angeles over the course of a night while he completes his assignment of wiping out five key figures in an upcoming trial. While the story and cinematography were great, it was the main characters that had my attention.
As odd a person as I find him in his personal life, I have to admit that I find Tom Cruise to be an awesome actor. I love nearly every performance of his and that goes double for his role as the villain in this film. Cruise is the hit-man Vincent, and he does an awesome job of portraying the cold-blooded killer while keeping him charismatic (to an extent). The majority of the movie is his interactions with Jamie Foxx, in his role as Max. Foxx, who I've only ever really seen in primarily comedic roles until "Collateral", pulls off the role nicely and it's fun to watch his attitude evolve from the frightened, panicked cabbie in the beginning to a strong-willed individual who takes his life into his own hands. In addition to the main characters, the film is FULL of high-quality actors/actresses in supporting roles. I have to admit, I didn't even recognize Mark Ruffalo (as LAPD Detective Fanning) or Javier Bardem (as Felix) until they were pointed out to me. Ruffalo, another actor I'm primarily used to seeing in comedic roles, is really absorbed into his role of the cop on Vincent's trail.
After reading/learning as much about this movie as I have, I am seriously impressed with Michael Mann. I loved this movie from the first time I saw it, but I gained a whole new respect for it when I learned of the detail he went into as a director to develop the characters of the film into what they are. He went so far as to write up complete background stories for both Max and Vincent to give the actors a sense of the character's histories and personalities, and I think it's really reflected in the movie. I've seen that this movie does get a bit of hate from some people out there, but I fail to see why. It's more than entertaining, the suspense keeps a tight hold on you until the end, and I feel that these are some of the best performances from both Cruise and Foxx. In my opinion, this movie is worth checking out, if only to form your own opinion.