15, 120 mins
Sensible audiences might query the empathetic relationship that develops between this ruthless doer and the principled driver trapped in his car. By the time the fifth victim hits the tarmac, no one in their right mind could possibly care. The visceral pleasure is watching Cruise snapping necks and plugging his targets (key witnesses in some grubby trial) with cold, clinical precision.
This is a film about coincidence and violence, and how one reacts to these forces is a moral irrelevance. That’s the pulling power of the film, and Foxx is dragged helplessly along in its wake. It’s a master-class in Cruise manipulation.
The sheer beauty of Collateral is how Michael Mann films LA. Shot entirely at night, this speedy, sensuous thriller is an ode to the pumping arteries of a sleepless city.