Collateral (2004)
- The incredible score for Collateral was composed in just a few weeks after the original composer dropped out.
- Before Tom Cruise was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Michael Mann's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
Collateral is a 2004 American neo-noir action thriller directed by Michael Mann. Tom Cruise plays against type as Vincent, a disciplined, silver-haired contract killer who forces Max, a Los Angeles taxi driver played by Jamie Foxx, to drive him to five targets across the city over the course of a single night. As the evening progresses and Vincent methodically executes his contracts, Max must summon courage he didn't know he possessed to survive the night and stop the final killing.
Tom Cruise's Vincent was a masterful villain โ calm, philosophical, and terrifyingly efficient, he discussed jazz improvisation and the meaninglessness of individual death with the same intellectual engagement. Jamie Foxx's Max, who has been driving a cab "temporarily" for 12 years while planning to start a limousine company, was transformed by the night's events from a passive dreamer into a man of action. Michael Mann shot Collateral digitally, using the early HD cameras' sensitivity to low light to capture nocturnal Los Angeles with unprecedented clarity and atmosphere.
Collateral earned $217 million worldwide on a $65 million budget.
