I Keep on Dancin'

Rating: 7/10 (11 August 2004)

Greetings again from the darkness. Director Michael Mann became famous for his work on "Miami Vice" in the 80's and has had his ups ("The Insider" "Manhunter" "Thief") and downs ("Heat" "Ali") as a feature film director. "Colateral" is a mixed bag of both. Casting usually good guy Tom Cruise as the souless hit man is what provides the initial interest in this film and Cruise does a fine job in this new territory. Couldn't help but mentally write the script with this Vince as a grown-up Vince from "The Color of Money". Of course, the playfulness has been replaced by ice water in the veins. As with many movies these days, the script comes up short and prevents this from being what it hinted at being. The best scene is the taxi cab banter between Jamie Foxx and Mrs. Will Smith. You sense that they could really help each other learn to live life. Foxx does an admirable job as the whipped, day-dreaming, somewhat scared of life part-time for 12 years cab driver. He has the gift of gab for the fares and really risks nothing in his everyday life. Everything changes one night when he accepts Cruise as a passenger and accidently discovers (with a bang) the mission this real estate professional is really on. The most absurd scene is the nightclub scene where guns are blaring, fights are everywhere and the dancers keep dancing. What kind of capture and rescue plan was this anyway? Was it possible to put any more civilians at risk? Anyway, the screenplay is way too loose and is just plain awful towards the end. Despite the flaws, it is a very watchable film and interesting because of the Cruise character.