Out now on both sides of the pond in similar editions is Michael Mann’s latest, Collateral. This stars Tom Cruise playing a hitman taking a taxi ride to all his targets, and it’s a fine performance once you can shake the idea that he looks like Swiss Toni.

Jamie Foxx seems to be the flavour of the moment but his cabbie character is given too many stupid lines to make him sympathetic, and I can’t be alone in wanting the bad guy to win. Still, it’s Michael Mann, so it’s all perfectly composed and lit (even if it is in orange), and the music is used perfectly especially in the unlikely climax. It’s been widely praised by the same critics who didn’t like Mann’s earlier work, but for me it lacks the scope and ambition of say Manhunter or Heat, although it’s still a pleasure to be treated as an intelligent viewer for a change.

The 2-disk version contains an hour or so of documentaries and an unadvertised commentary by Mann.

Mild Peril Rating:

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