Collateral Shows Tom Cruise Outside His Usual Hero Persona

Collateral is about Max, a taxi driver working at night in Los Angeles.

One passenger, Vincent, seems friendly and talkative.

Max soon learns that Vincent is a hitman.

Vincent pays Max to drive him around while he completes several killings.

Max becomes frightened and tries to survive the night.

Vincent talks about philosophy and jazz while acting very dangerously.

Jamie Foxx plays the scared driver, and Tom Cruise plays the killer.

The film is praised for showing Cruise as someone very different from his usual heroic characters.