Collateral (2004)

Director: Michael Mann

Writer: Stuart Beattie

Composer: James Newton Howard

Starring: Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Bruce McGill, Irma P. Hall, Barry Sabaka Henley, Richard T. Jones, Debi Mazar, Javier Bardem, Jason Statham

More info: IMDb

Tagline: It started like any other night

Plot: A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles. He must find a way to save both himself and one last victim.

My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again? Probably not.

I really didn't care for this much the first time around ten years ago.  What bothered me then, mostly, was the Hollywood-ish turn at the end when Max (Foxx) tries to stop Vincent (Cruise) from finishing the job.  That and it's the 'who' the job was that irked me.  I still feel that way but not as strongly as then.  Cruise is fantastic and I REALLY like the cold, professional persona he has.  I'd like to see Vincent in more movies, still as the bad guy and getting away with murder, but we all know that won't happen.  Everyone else does a fine job, too.  It's a fine action/crime/thriller with a nice buildup and resolution.  I would rather have a different ending but that's just me.  The two disc Dreamworks DVD comes with a second disc of nothing but behind the scenes featurettes.  I didn't watch any of them.  The movie is enough.  Sadly, there's no commentary by Mann.  Maybe he's one of those douchey directors who doesn't believe in them.  Bloody splitter!