Michael Mann captures the mood of classic Hollywood film noir and froths it up into a contemporary crime thriller, the Los Angeles setting as central to the film as is the story.  The sprawling, impersonal, metropolis after dark during one long night for professional hit man Vincent (Tom Cruise) and cab driver Max (Jamie Foxx) is seen reflected by, through, and around a myriad of shiny surfaces that shape the city.  Faces obscured by the windows of the cab, aerial shots with an eagle’s eye view, glossy puddles in an alley, all refracted by shiny glass office towers, set the tone of a puzzle unraveling.

Director Mann (Ali, The Insider) strikes a balance between noir nightmare and action thriller, scented with the wise guy comic tone of such classic noir figures as Dick Powell’s or Elliot Gould’s Philip Marlowe.  Here the quips are mostly from icy-hot psychopath Vincent.  After hailing Max’s cab at LAX and a brief "interview" in the guise of taxi chat, Vincent hires Max to be his driver for the night.  The film remains relatively cliché free in spite of some expected requisite moments. There is a brief monolog from Vincent about his lost childhood with an alcoholic father, and Max’s stereotypical minority social status, complete with sick mother (Irma P. Hall, infusing her character role with droll wit), it does not seem any less true that these backgrounds would produce a street savvy killing machine like Vincent or a sanguine dreamer like Max.

The coincidences that put Max and Vincent together, and tie them to another cab fare, prosecuting attorney Annie Farrell (Jada Pinkett-Smith) revolve around a big federal drug trial, where eliminating the witnesses are all in a days work. As Max becomes unwilling human collateral on Vincent’s night shift, he is simultaneously caught up in the sticky web, and at the same time a quick study in Vincent’s methods of survival. It’s the common film noir element of a fluke occurrence that thrusts an ordinary person into a nightmare scenario.  In the essential after hours jazz club scene, the smoky music matches the somber mood, as does the dynamic score in the rest of the film, sometimes wild, sometimes full of suspense, always energizing.   

From the opening sequence of a salt-and-pepper haired Cruise arriving at the airport, he projects a smooth and unnatural calm. As Max soon learns, there are no limits to Vincent’s audacity. Foxx is a perfect counter foil for Cruise, their chemistry volleying note for note. Mark Ruffalo plays a wild card cop with a sixth sense for his job. We know they will all cross paths soon, but Mann keeps us fully involved as we find out just how.  Who the good guys are and who the bad guys are not clear and tidy, and in little anecdotes such as a parable told by top honcho, Felix (Javier Bardem), an allegory is suggested. The orchestrated chaos in a crowded nightclub that leads to the finale is a bit over the top, and is not in the same class with a modern classic like "Chinatown"; it however comes close enough to satisfy.