--- title: "Collateral: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/collateral/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/collateral" critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 8 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Collateral (2004): what the critics said Critics' score 82 from 8 reviews: 8 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics regard Collateral as a tightly controlled thriller whose interest extends beyond the mechanics of a hostage plot. Praise centres on Michael Mann’s direction, the digital night photography of Los Angeles, and the exchanges between Tom Cruise’s contract killer and Jamie Foxx’s cab driver. The reviews repeatedly single out Foxx’s dramatic performance and Cruise’s casting against type. For many, the conversations in the cab give the violence weight, bringing questions of work, responsibility and choice into a familiar crime story. Reservations cluster around the final act, where several critics find the plotting more conventional and the action less distinctive than the earlier encounters. The spread runs from enthusiastic approval to a smaller, distinctly cooler minority. Evening Standard questions both the premise and Cruise’s menace, while Slant Magazine finds insufficient psychological depth and an excessive running time; even these reviews acknowledge the strength of the images. ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Rating 4/4. 6 August 2004. The film is a strong character study built around a long conversation between a contract killer and his cab driver hostage, deepened by specific details and convincing supporting scenes at each stop. Performances, especially Jamie Foxx's dramatic lead turn, elevate it beyond standard thriller conventions. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/collateral-2004) ## Time Out — GA Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 May 2011. The film is a taut, tight, bluesy urban noir with crafted dialogue, excellent acting, and an existential riff on Mann's themes of professionalism and responsibility. It is as intelligent, engrossing and exciting as expected from the maker of Thief and Heat. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/collateral) ## The New Yorker — David Denby Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 2 August 2004. Collateral is the best of the summer's big thrillers, beautifully made with the largest human significance among them and clockwork precision that still breathes. Mann excels at intricate character moments amid the violence, particularly in the bond between the killer and the taxi driver. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/08/09/thrilled-to-death) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2004. The film peers deeply into the physical and moral darkness of Los Angeles at night through the story of a cab driver held by a hit man. Mann's direction and the lead performances create a sharp, exciting thriller that examines driven outsiders swallowed by their professions. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-aug-06-et-turan6-story.html) ## Radio Times — Adam Smith Rating 4/5. Cruise is well cast against type and surprisingly effective as the killer, but it is Mann's astonishing style that really marks the film out, with night-time LA looking moody, surreal and dangerous. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-3x9mfm/collateral/) ## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 August 2004. Mann uses the thriller genre as a way into meaning, turning the story of a hit man and cab driver into a road movie and valentine to nighttime Los Angeles rather than a standard Hollywood blowout. The film hinges on the intersection of fate and choice between two radically different souls. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/movies/film-review-killer-in-a-cab-doing-his-job.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 August 2004. An intriguing noir thriller with an arresting digital video look that returns Mann to the crime genre; it never achieves the intensity of Heat and turns too generic in its action-oriented final act, but stands out as one of the summer's tastier Hollywood offerings. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/collateral/4019577.article) ## The AV Club — Nathan Rabin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 2 August 2004. The film works best as a low-key, self-contained thriller focused on two men in one cab over a single night in Los Angeles, with strong performances from Foxx and Cruise. It falters with a hacky twist and subplot at the end but remains atmospheric and engaging overall. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/collateral-1798199923) ## Empire — Colin Kennedy 17 September 2004. The critic hails Collateral as Mann's movie through and through, with strong against-type turns from Cruise and Foxx and innovative digital-video night photography that creates a new kind of noir. It notes some conventional plotting in the final act but calls the cab-bound sections masterful. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/collateral-review/) ## Evening Standard — Will Self 10 April 2012. The review finds Collateral visually striking thanks to its digital night photography of Los Angeles but faults the premise and Cruise's performance for lacking sufficient malevolence. It notes the film's reliance on cars, chords and coincidences. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/toms-too-good-7382273.html) ## Slant Magazine 10 May 2004. Festival review. The film is a constricted chamber piece that fails to deliver the expected epic or psychological heft from a Mann-Cruise pairing. It offers some tense encounters and strong visuals but ultimately feels like routine business that runs too long. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/collateral/) ## The Guardian — Philip French 19 September 2004. The critic calls Collateral as good a thriller as we're likely to see this year, praising its inventive, well-paced narration and neo-noir qualities in the league of classics like Heat and Le Samouraï. He singles out the expert handling of the tense night-time LA setting and the strong central performances. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2004/sep/19/philipfrench) ## The Independent 16 September 2004. The critic calls the film terrific and an effective return to Mann's familiar LA milieu after Ali. The standout element is the cinematography, which renders night-time Los Angeles with architectural precision and noirish menace. [Read the review](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/reviews/collateral-15-546531.html) ## The Times — Edward Porter Rating 3 stars. 19 September 2004. The critic finds Collateral enjoyable for its cinematic verve and strong performances, particularly Cruise as a convincing sociopath and Foxx as the cabbie, but notes that the plot goes from generic to plain weak in the end. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/travel/destinations/north-america-travel/us-travel/california/film-damage-imitation-qsvpfxpqxqp) ## Total Film 17 September 2004. The review describes the film as streamlined and potentially superficial on the surface but praises Mann for executing it flawlessly and elevating it beyond a standard Hollywood thriller through atmosphere, performances and set-pieces. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/collateral-review/) ## Eye for Film — Angus Wolfe Murray 17 September 2004. The critic finds the film gripping and thrilling, crediting Michael Mann's masterful direction and visual style for elevating a familiar premise. Cruise and Foxx deliver standout performances that anchor the tense, character-driven action. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/collateral-film-review-by-angus-wolfe-murray) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/collateral.md