Collateral

If you recall my little (ahem) "rant" on Public Enemies a while back, you remember that I stated that I was highly disappointed with it. I decided to watch an eariler Michael Mann movie, Collateral, to make up for Public Enemies. It did.

Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) has been working as a night-shift cab driver for twelve years. He plans to open his own limo company, but he never gets around to it. One night, he picks up Vincent (Tom Cruise), who says he'll give Max a large sum of money if he's dropped off at five locations throughout the night. But as the night wears on, Max finds out that Vincent is a hitman. And as the L.A.P.D. and the F.B.I. race to intercept them, Max and Vincent's survival become dependent on each other, in ways neither would have imagined.

Oh man, this definitely made up for Public Enemies. It has oomph. It has thrills. It has an edge. I have a thing for charming yet chilling characters, and Cruise is just that. Collateral is reminescent of Heat on so many levels. How so? One reason: IT KICKS ASS.

My Rating: ****1/2