In brief: Excellent thriller. Cruise, Foxx and Mann are at the top of their game.

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.

Great Dialogue:
Max: "You killed him."
Vincent: "No. I shot him. The bullet and the fall killed him."

Cruise really has the icy, villanous nature of Vincent nailed. Look for Peter Berg (Chicago Hope) and Bruce Mc Gill (61*, Voyager's Capt. Braxton) as L.A. cops.

I thought that line was dumb. It didn't seem like a cool comeback; rather, it seemed like hair-splitting. His "I didn't push him. He fell." retort was better, IMO.

While I liked the movie, I have a nit. In the ending shootout in the MTA train, why was Vincent the only one hit with the bullet? It doesnt make sense that the doors were bulletproof but the glass was not.

But did VIncent die??
What's to say there won't be a sequel which starts exactly where this film left off??

Having said that, I really loved this film. Every now and again Tom Cruise does a role that makes me realise just what a talented actor he is- this is one of them.

The direction is excellent and the script brilliant.

Jamie Foxx is outstanding.

I second Luigi's recommendation.Sorry...not the most informative around...

Good film, not great, but good. Since it's easier to show the faults rather than expound on the good stuff, let's do that.

The film has two major problems and one minor problem:

1. It should be a taut, claustrophobic thriller, but the constant cutaways to pointless characters like the cops on Vincent's trail detract from that and pad the length of the film.

2. The ending seems out of place; while undeniably well directed and edited, it just doesn't seem like it's the same film. I wouldn't have minded seeing the movie end after the taxi accident--just two strangers crossing each other's lives for a night.

3. People do really DUMB things in this movie. I realize that in films like this we have to accept it, but, to wit:

a. The FBI completely mismanages the witness at the club. Did they not even call ahead?
b. Why didn't anybody notify Jada Pinkett Smith's character about what had been happening?
c. I think Jamie Foxx misses several chances to escape. I realize that he is just an average joe and many average joes would not think of these things in the stress of the moment, but...there are a lot of moments in which I think he could run off or at least make some attention. I certainly wouldn't have waited until the killer dude was alone with my mom to make a bolt.
d. Does it make sense for Vincent to cut off the power to the building at the end? Is there some reason why he didn't just go up and pop her instead of giving her a camoflauge?

Jamie Foxx was Oscar nominated the this film (as "Best Supporting Actor") but won for "Best Actor" for Ray. IMHO, he was better here.
Also, the eyeglasses that Foxx wears look like dummies. Just plain (what opticians call "planar" lenses) mounted onto frames.