A View from Mars

Collateral (A-). In short, this is one cool ride. In one corner, Tom Cruise in a villanious role more becoming of the classic antihero, the bad guy you root for. In the other, Jamie Foxx (busting out a little dramatic chops), playing the classic everyman, the good guy you root for. TC plays a contract killer in L.A. for one night to "take care of business" and JF is the idealistic cabbie who is destined to be in the wrong place for a fare that will change his life. Heat's Michael Mann takes us back to the seedy night life that makes L.A. a great place to visit but not to live as interchanged nonchalantly between Cruise and Foxx in one scene. It's actually the interchange in dialogue and also what is not spoken between the two that really propels the film and seperates it from just your average run-of-the-mill adult action oriented thriller. Although the ending doesn't disappoint, I was hoping for the exclamation mark that would have elevated this film from great to greater. I always know a movie is going to be a hit with me when half to 2/3rds of the way, I already anticipate owning the DVD. With Cruise's performance, Foxx's breakout adaptability and Mann's "cool" direction, there's nothing more really that needs to be said...easily one of the better flicks this summer.