The Tom Cruise Thriller On Netflix That Will Make You Hate Him
Considering that he keeps coming back for sequels to legacy franchises like Top Gun and Mission Impossible, it’s easy to dismiss Tom Cruise as an actor who always plays the same type of character. Of course, if you really believe that, then you’ve never watched Collateral, an edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave you gasping in surprise. And if you’re ready to watch a movie that turns America’s favorite actor into someone you love to hate, you can now stream this film on Netflix.
The first thing you should know about Collateral is that it is directed by Michael Mann, and as he did with Miami Vice, the veteran director infuses a sense of neo-noir style into his portrayal of the city. It’s fair to say that the setting of Los Angeles is just as much a character as the one played by Tom Cruise, but the movie has another big personality in the form of Jamie Foxx.
Collateral, starring Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx, is streaming on Netflix.
Foxx plays an ambitious and entrepreneurial cab driver who only finds out too late that Cruise’s character is a hitman, and what was meant to be an easy job for this cabbie soon transforms into a relentless descent into hell.
Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx make for a real powerhouse duo, and their performances onscreen together in this movie practically sizzle with electricity.
The rest of the cast is also filled with amazing talent, including Mark Ruffalo, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Javier Bardem. Jason Statham is even in this film in a minor role, and it’s fun to watch him in this and know that, about two decades after this was filmed, audiences would be seeing him brandish a sword against an ancient terror as the headlining lead of The Meg 2.
While it’s almost impossible to imagine Collateral without Tom Cruise, he wasn’t the first choice to play the heartless hitman at the heart of this tale. Originally, Russell Crowe expressed interest, and it was actually Crowe that got Michael Mann on board as the director (the two had previously worked together on The Insider).
Considering all the horrific villainy that Tom Cruise’s character brings to the table, it’s surprising to discover that Collateral has a very wholesome conception. The film’s writer, Stuart Beattie, came up with the idea when he was only 17, but he didn’t expect to do much with it except write his own screenplay.
But when he was waiting tables one faithful day, he ran into a former screenwriting classmate-turned-producer Julie Richardson, and she was able to later sell the idea to Dreamworks, with future The Walking Dead showrunner Frank Darabont serving as one of the film’s producers.
While it’s almost impossible to imagine Collateral without Tom Cruise, he wasn’t the first choice to play the heartless hitman at the heart of this tale. Originally, Russell Crowe expressed interest, and it was actually Crowe that got Michael Mann on board as the director (the two had previously worked together on The Insider).
But whether they loved Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Michael Mann, or all three, audiences showed up in a big way for Collateral.
Frequent delays meant that Crowe had to back out of the film, and Mann was able to convince Tom Cruise to take Crowe’s place.
On some films, delays and cast changes (speaking of which, Adam Sandler came dangerously close to playing Jamie Foxx’s role) would have been a bad omen for the film’s financial performance.
But whether they loved Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, Michael Mann, or all three, audiences showed up in a big way for Collateral. The film ended up making $220.9 million against a budget of only $65 million, which is the kind of success Warner Bros. would kill for after The Flash ended up being such a major box-office disappointment.
In addition to being a commercial hit, Collateral ended up being a critical darling as well. On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie currently has an 86 percent rating from critics and an 84 percent rating from audiences. While there is plenty to love in this film, critics singled out the signature visual style of Michael Mann as well as Tom Cruise’s amazing performance as a killer as reasons for watching this film.
And with the summer blockbuster season winding down and the actor’s and writer’s strike in full gear, it’s not like there is much in the new way of content coming out. Now is the perfect time to beat the heat by staying inside and streaming Collateral on Netflix. And now that we exclusively broke the story that Michael Mann is creating a sequel with Jamie Foxx, streaming the first film now means you’ll be in a prime position to enjoy Collateral 2 when it drops.
