Despite having several excellent films to his credit, Michael Mann can’t seem to help showing a few cracks in his direction of late. Collateral still works, but only just. If you can suspend your disbelief at certain crucial moments, then the experience may well surprise you.

In Los Angeles, cab driver Max Durocher (Jamie Foxx) has a normal lifestyle, quite unspectacular on the surface. He works the night shift simply because “people are more relaxed, less stressed” and there are “better tips.” Underneath Max’s mundane existence, he is quite a perceptive chap. His insights even impress prosecuting attorney Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith). She becomes his first significant fare of the night. The next one ends up being a different story altogether. Vincent (Tom Cruise), who works in the “private sector” as an assassin, offers Max some additional cash if he can chauffeur him around the city. The former has five stops to make, presumably to see five friends -- but Max doesn’t know they are targets and that he may become an unwitting accomplice if he fails to escape Vincent’s deadly web.

With an appearance designed to blend in, Cruise proves to be as charismatic, devious and cold-blooded as they come. His grey suit and beard are meant to make him anonymous, not distinctive as befits good trade craft. Some viewers may find these stylistic touches unconvincing. I tend to enjoy the hidden meaning behind Cruise’s new look. Apparently, during pre-production, the actor dressed up as a delivery man in order to see if he could be indistinguishable from the crowd. It worked because Cruise takes this design concept much further in Collateral.

Foxx, on the other hand, provides a very down-to-earth performance, completely stripped of any special qualities.

The film's pacing seems a bit up and down. About midway, the story flat-lines and goes off the rails. Fleeting action beats are spread throughout, with numerous talky interludes. Yet, the most revolutionary aspect of the film -- the standout commodity -- manifests itself in the cinematography, specifically the lighting. Dion Beebe and Paul Cameron use high-definition video to expose the mysterious void of the night sky. The trees and streetlights shimmer with an unusual, spectral glow. Normal motion picture cameras don’t have the ability to reveal such subtlety in low light. As a storytelling tool, high-definition video might catch on and drastically alter the way films are made. That is quite an accomplishment by itself.

Incidentally, a sub-plot involving Detective Ray Fanning (Mark Ruffalo) comes across with less success. Somehow, this character can’t quite get past the contrivances present in Stuart Beattie’s screenplay. Coincidences abound as Fanning just happens to be intuitive enough to suspect that something is going on. Adding to which, his brief recollection about a previous case involving a demented cab driver stretches credibility too far.

Overall, Collateral could have been more tightly paced with fewer characters and a sharper introduction. Good filmmaking aside, every philosophical idea that Mann puts forward about fate, the importance of the past and the inevitability of the future takes away from the simple idea of this movie: suspense requires more care and attention than overblown, self-serving speeches. 

(Released by DreamWorks and rated "R" for violence and language.)