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Collateral
Okay, I'll admit it up front: I'm a huge Michael Mann fan. I was really into Miami Vice when it was on during my teenage years. And The Last of the Mohicans is one of my top 5 movies of all time. I've pretty much enjoyed all his movies so far (though I haven't seen Ali yet, so there's still an opportunity to disappoint me :-)
So I went into Collateral with high hopes. They were further elevated by having Tom Cruise on board, since he's been on a pretty good winning streak recently (Minority Report and The Last Samurai were both excellent movies).
A lot of fuss has been made over seeing Cruise play the "bad guy" in this movie, but I didn't find it particularly surprising, especially given that his character is such a cool professional at what he does. Jamie Foxx does a credible job as the cabbie who is essentially held hostage to the killer's whims.
One scene in particular made me laugh unexpectedly, where Cruise's character uses cable ties to tie Foxx's hands to the steering wheel. But for the most part, the movie is dark (set entirely at night) and grim. The cinematography and direction is top-notch, as I would expect from Michael Mann, and the whole city is brought to life. There is also a real tension throughout the film, and some nice unexpected twists. The scene where Foxx had to go talk to Cruise's contractor to get some additional information was particularly intense.
The only real problem I had with the movie was the ending, which was telescoped from the very beginning. I'm not normally one to try and guess the ending, but for some reason in this movie it was just too obvious.
But getting there is most of the fun anyway, and this movie was still a fun ride. My expectations might have been a bit high, but I'd still give it 3/4 stars.