Collateral
Michael Mann turns one Los Angeles night into a chrome blue nightmare of headlights, glass, and bad fate. Tom Cruise has never been colder, and Jamie Foxx makes fear look like a survival skill.
A city that never quite wakes up
Los Angeles is the real engine of Collateral. Michael Mann films its roads and empty offices as a place where people can disappear in plain sight. The digital night photography gives the film a restless texture that suits its strange, temporary partnership.
Tom Cruise makes Vincent unnervingly practical, while Jamie Foxx gives Max a life beyond the passenger seat. Their arguments matter because they expose how each man has justified standing still. The violence interrupts those conversations with frightening speed.
Watch it for the atmosphere and the clash of personalities. Its final stretch is more conventional than its best scenes, but the journey through the city stays with you.