Review of Collateral

This was a really entertaining movie. Cruise excels at creating a

frightening, intimidating killer, probably his first clear-cut villainous

role since `Taps'. Jamie Foxx, in an interview I saw before seeing

this film last night, talked about how he was asked to `take it down

a notch' so to speak, in order to play a simple, humble cab driver,

and seeing the film proves he did that just well. (As a side note, I

saw the trailer for `Ray' in front of `The Manchurian Candidate',

which I went to after `Collateral', and just from the trailer, Foxx's

performance looks like it might be an Oscar contender.) Michael

Mann's direction rises to its usual adroit level, and this was his

best thriller since `Heat', full of close-up shots of characters and

lingering shots that cause the heart to pump. Stuart Beattie's

script wisely creates that thriller that, not content with mere empty

action, gets under the skin of its characters, using their lives and

their weaknesses to create a rapport with the audience, evoking

both sympathy and tension.

This was a great film. I recommend it.