Collateral is a 2004 American neo-noir action thriller film[3][4] directed and produced by Michael Mann, written by Stuart Beattie, and starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

The supporting cast includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Berg, Javier Bardem, and Bruce McGill.

The film follows Max Durocher (Foxx), a Los Angeles cab driver, and his customer, Vincent (Cruise).

When offered a high fare for driving to several locations, Max agrees but soon finds himself taken hostage by Vincent who turns out to be a hitman on a contract killing spree.

Before the trio of Mann, Cruise and Foxx joined the film, Mimi Leder, Janusz Kamiński and Fernando Meirelles were each considered as director, and Russell Crowe and Adam Sandler were in talks to star as Vincent and Max, respectively.

Fanning arrives at the hospital morgue to see the bodies of criminal lawyer Sylvester Clark, Vincent's second target, and the two dead robbers, and realizes that this is the work of a hitman.

Vincent snaps back by arguing Max has been lying to himself about wanting to start his limousine business, using it as an excuse to avoid taking risks in life.

The original story centered around an African-American female cop who witnesses a hit, and the romance between the cab driver and his then librarian girlfriend.

Richardson had become a producer and was searching for projects for Frank Darabont, Rob Fried and Chuck Russell's company, Edge City, which was created to make low budget genre films for HBO.

Richardson pitched the idea to Darabont, who brought the team in for a meeting, including Beattie, and set up the project under Edge City.

Haimes immediately contacted Richardson, read the script overnight, and DreamWorks put in an offer the following day.

[11][12] Brazilian filmmaker Fernando Meirelles had initially agreed to direct, but eventually decided to exit as the production would require him to relocate to Los Angeles for eight months.

[15] Mann explained that the confined time frame and smaller scale of the film in comparison to previous efforts like The Last of the Mohicans and Heat were what drew him to the project.

[15] Beattie wanted the studio to cast Robert De Niro as Max, once again making him a taxi driver, though the exact opposite of Travis Bickle.

[22] Val Kilmer was originally cast in the film as Detective Fanning, but exited to star in Oliver Stone's Alexander, resulting in Mark Ruffalo taking on the role instead.

[23][24] In a similar situation, Dennis Farina, initially cast as Agent Pedrosa, had to exit due to scheduling conflicts with the television series Law & Order, and was recast with Bruce McGill.

[26] Jason Statham made a small appearance in a role credited as "Airport Man", briefly interacting with Cruise at the opening of the film.

[30] Mann chose to use the Viper FilmStream High-Definition Camera to film many of Collateral's scenes, the first such use in a major motion picture.

[31] Mann had previously used the format for portions of Ali and his CBS drama Robbery Homicide Division and would later employ the same camera for the filming of Miami Vice.

The critical consensus states that "Driven by director Michael Mann's trademark visuals and a lean, villainous performance from Tom Cruise, Collateral is a stylish and compelling noir thriller.

[40] Roger Ebert gave the film three-and-a-half stars out of four, saying Mann's direction and insightful dialogue elevated Collateral above its genre roots.

He's up to the role's demands, conveying fear, confusion and frustration, but more important the exhaustion and recklessness that can easily follow when someone's been scared for so long".

[42] Desson Thomson gave similar praise to Foxx, finding the actor "quietly pries the movie from Cruise's big-marquee fingers".

[44] Placing the film on his best of the year list, Richard Schickel of Time magazine praised the acting in addition to Mann's direction and Beattie's screenplay, despite finding logical inconsistencies in the plot and that it "does not have quite enough completely compelling incidents to sustain its considerable length".

[45][46] In a mixed review, Marrit Ingman of the Austin Chronicle gave positive remarks to Mann's film-making, but stated "There's not much substance lurking beneath all the style, though the plot digresses into several awkward scenes intended to flesh out the characters".

Max is the one who lives in the real world, which is ultimately the point of the movie -- but it takes the picture a very long time to reach a conclusion that's evident from the start to any attuned viewer".