Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
Cab driver Max picks up a man who offers him $600 to drive him around. But the promise of easy money sours when Max realizes his fare is an assassin.
Collateral is elevated well above its premise by two outstanding lead performances — Tom Hanks as the laconic hitman and Jamie Foxx as the reluctant cabbie deliver genuinely exceptional work, with Foxx earning an Oscar nomination for good reason. Mann's cinematography is a standout: shooting digitally on the streets of LA at night gives the film a gritty, almost documentary texture that is visually distinctive and memorably atmospheric. The plot is a solid, well-executed thriller chassis but not particularly surprising in its structure or turns — a cat-and-mouse over one night. Novelty is reasonable; the digital night photography and Mann's cool neo-noir aesthetic give it a distinct voice, but the core concept is familiar. The ending is competent and satisfying but slightly conventional for the genre, resolving in a fairly expected confrontation.