Collateral finds Mann in "Heat" territory again, which is fine, because this master filmmaker really excels in the crime/thriller genre (in addition to Heat, check out the stellar Manhunter, or The Insider).

Collateral features a more mature and graying Tom Cruise as a contract killer who goes by the name of Vincent. A consummate professional looking for a cab to shuttle him from one job to the next. Enter Jamie Foxx as a cabby named Max who agrees to taxi Vincent for the night after he offers him a tidy sum of cash. Of course, Max is hardly aware of this intense passenger's particular line of work until after the first of several unfortunate accidents opens his eyes as to the kind of ride he’s signed on for.

Collateral Crackles with electricity and the bond that develops between driver and passenger has a strange, yet fascinating dynamic. Tom Cruise is outstanding in a rare bad-guy performance. He has a wicked sense of humor that perfectly punctuates his cold professionalism and self confidence. As I watched him do his thing in this well-paced thriller, I found that as distasteful as the acts Vincent carried out were, I couldn’t help but like this character. And in a way, so does Max. That's a true testament to Cruise's ability as a performer. While he is one of the biggest box-office stars in the world, I sometimes can't help but feel he's slightly underrated as an actor.

Jamie Foxx proves the perfect match for the Icy-cool Cruise. Generally thought of as a comic-actor, his dramatic chops are his secret weapon (his turn as Ray Charles in the upcoming biopic Ray looks spectacular) - and his performance as Taxi Max is further testament to Foxx’s depth of talent. Max dreams of one day being a private driver for celebrities, and a nice fistful of cash isn’t going to hurt that cause - but he’s not a man without a conscience, which eventually comes into play. Interestingly Foxx’s role was to be played by Adam Sandler, and while that might have been interesting, I'm glad Mann went with Foxx. The rapport that slowly builds between he and Cruise, feels genuine; and there are moments in the picture when these two colorful characters truly appear to be enjoying each other's company. That is until Vincent’s plans for the evening kind of kills the mood.

Michael Mann is a Maestro with films like this. The entire picture was shot digitally, and the style suits the material perfectly. The colors, sights and sounds of LA are expertly captured, and by the end of Collateral, it is clear that Los Angeles isn't only the setting of this movie, but a character as well. Mann knows LA inside and out - not only the look, but it’s residents and their rhythm all figure into the feel of the film.

The screenplay is sharp, offering up twists, turns and spontaneous bursts of violence - all while allowing these character-relationships to grow. Through the first three quarters of this movie, I seriously wasn't sure who was going to live or who was going to die, and that in itself was quite exciting. But then the final quarter of the film comes into play. I won't go into deep detail, but I will say that one of Vincent's marks, is incredibly predictable and almost stops the film dead in it's tracks. I had really hoped that Collateral wouldn't go in this all-too-obvious direction, but it does. Luckily, as routine and dull as this cliched twist is, Mann shoots the hell out of it. The climax of this picture is taut and thrilling, so much so, that I was almost willing to forgive the movie for it's unnecessary trip to familiar-ville.

The only other major flaw I would point out, is that I wasn't terribly fond of all the music choices, some of which were painfully intrusive. James Newton Howard's score is terrific (as usual), but some of the rock songs seemed sorely out of place (most notably, a tune by Audioslave - I love the song, but it doesn't compliment the scene that it plays over).

I was chatting with our music man Kyle England who was fortunate enough to see a special screening of this picture a few nights ago. He also felt that, had the movie not turned into a routine thriller in the final act, it would have been one of the best films of the year. I'm inclined to agree with him.

Still, we both agreed that this is a very solid thriller with terrific performances, expert execution and a tight pace. It's cool in every sense of the word. Take for instance, a sequence in which Vincent takes time out of his busy schedule to buy Max a drink at a Jazz/blues club. Mann allows the scene to linger so that we the audience get a chance to take in some truly amazing music. Like I said, cool.

Collateral (though damaged by a pat ending) is slick, blazing entertainment, and easily one of the hippest thrillers of the year.

Grade: B+