"Collateral"

2 1/2 stars

Tom Cruise goes over to the dark side in his latest movie, "Collateral." He

plays Vincent, a contract killer with a heavy schedule of asassinations

to complete before the night ends. Luckily for him, he cons a

cab driver, Max (Jamie Foxx), into driving him around for the

evening. Cruise flashes some money at Foxx and gets him to go

against company policy for the first, but not the last time.

Soon they are off and Vincent begins his night's work as

he shoots a low level drug dealer who falls out the window onto

Max's cab parked just below.

Enter Tom Cruise's gun and the main element which drives

this carjacking nightmare. Foxx plays his part with sincerity,

trying not to freak out as the killings get more and more brutal.

On the way, we learn about Vincent's bad childhood, his

cruel sense of humor and his twisted morals. He's basically

a sociopath who's good at his job.

The occassional, clever banter between driver and passenger

slowly subsides as Max realizes he has to try and stop this nut

from completing his rounds. The L.A. nightlife becomes the backdrop

for Vincent's reign of terror with a few detours that give

the audience a chance to see other sides of the two main characters.

The story has a sluggish start but gets revved up soon enough,

building momentum as it rushes forward toward its screeching

halt of an end. Here again, I must point out a lack of interest

in any of the characters. Foxx wants to start his own Limo company,

but he can't seem to take the leap of faith required to

do it. He chats flirtingly with a lawyer who worries about losing

her next big case. Vincent waxes creepily about the universe

and life in general. A good cop gives 110 percent but it still

isn't enough.

We should care about these problems if the film makers have

done their job, but we don't. There is not enough character

development here to make us worry one way or the other what happens.

When Cruise "caps" somebody, we jump, we wince, or

we shout "Whoa!", but we don't really fell any

loss.

It's a fun ride, a dangerous ride, but no scarier or emotionally

involving than a few turns on a ferris wheel. The movie just

finally stops and we are let off. There are a few good thrills

here, and some nice supporting performances. It's not worth

the admission fee of $8.50 however. If Cruise could have been

more menacing or Foxx a little more panic stricken, this team-up

may have become a classic. Instead, these two characters just

sit there and idle.

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