A sharp, edgy urban thriller, Collateral follows Max (Jamie Foxx) an LA cab driver who dreams of changing his life and getting out of the game. Early one night, he picks up a besuited grey haired man, Vincent (Tom Cruise), who offers him $600 to ferry him around for the next several hours. Reluctantly, Max agrees, but his suspicions that Vincent is not all that he seems are soon confirmed when a body lands on the roof of his car. Realising that Vincent is a hired killer and he's stuck as his transport for the evening, Max desperately tries to find a way out for himself and Vincent's intended victims.
Mainly shot on high definition digital video and directed with characteristic style and grace by Michael Mann, Collateral is an assured, precise piece of work that rarely falters. Mann's eye for detail is as sharp as ever, the perpetual contrast between light and darkness a thing of sublime beauty here - but it's in the characters which screenwriter Stuart Beattie finds a subtlety and range. There's plenty of early Oscar buzz about Tom Cruise's work here and it's certainly not without justification - Vincent's underlying rage is just barely masked by an exaggerated sense of decorum and an appreciation of culture. However, Jamie Foxx does his level best to nick to the movie from right under Cruise's nose.