Collateral

A hitman (Tom Cruise) forces a Los Angeles cab-driver (Jamie Foxx) to drive him from hit to hit.

Collateral is a return to form for director Michael Mann, reuniting the director with his favorite subject: Los Angeles. Using special digital photography, Mann captures LA at night like no other film, and in doing so delivers his most visually compelling film since his epic Heat.

As always seems to be the case in Mann’s films, the cast is excellent. Though his role may have been better suited for Russell Crowe, Tom Cruise shows surprising range. Even more impressive is Jamie Foxx, who proves his ability as a dramatic actor in spades.

Like Heat, Collateral is meticulously thought out and shot. The nightclub scene is a perfect example of Mann’s storytelling genius in both it’s dramatic effect and suspension of disbelief. Sure, it’s fast paced and exciting, but it’s also believable, a point lost on many modern movies.

If Collateral has one flaw, it’s that the story it tells, while solid, is not as large or as meaningful as some of Mann’s other works. But that doesn’t mean it’s not a story worth telling.