Vincent (Tom Cruise) is a contract killer at the top of his game.  Max (Jaime Foxx) is a cabbie with big dreams and little to show for it.  Now, Max has to transport Vincent on his next job – one night, five stops, five hits and a getaway.  And after this fateful night, neither man will ever be the same again.  Tonight everything is changing...

Collateral has an unusual beginning for a thriller.  Vincent arrives at LAX, and then we immediately jump to Max starting out on his cabbie shift.  It seems as though there was something that came before, like we’re walking in at the start of the third act.  Max picks up Annie (Jada Pinkett Smith), and they have an unusually long conversation for the opening few minutes of a film.  Everything is important, though, and will come into play later.  Max drops Annie off and picks up Vincent, and everything get rolling.

Vincent and Max are not unalike.  Both are extremely professional about what they do, both with a keen eye for details, for particulars, be it about the condition of a taxi cab, or about planning a murder.  The difference comes in action.  Vincent is a man of action, he’s decisive, a classic Type A personality.  He goes for what he wants with an almost pathological intensity.  Max is a talker.  He has been working the same “temporary” cab driver job for twelve years, and though he has been planning to start his own limo company for just as long, he has made no inroads into actually making it happen.  He confines himself to the bubble of his cab, where it has always been safe.

The story here – a cabbie stuck driving this killer on his rounds all night – is a framework for exploring these two characters.  We find out more about them than either of them would probably normally care to reveal, particularly Vincent, who has a hidden psychological life going back to his childhood.  Cruise and director Mann are subtle about how they reveal all of this, much of it coming in a look or a gesture.

Collateral was shot in HD video, something Mann talks about at length in is audio commentary and in other bonus material, and the new technology only helped the film.  HD made scenes possible that would not have otherwise been with motion picture film.  The technology is put to good use here, creating an atmosphere and bringing the city of Los Angeles to life in ways that is rarely is; the city is really the third main character in the film.

This film runs the gamut from brutal to heartbreaking, from nihilistic to hopeful, all in the course of one night.  The material is well handled by Mann and the actors, and Stuart Beattie’s script is top drawer.  Collateral is one of the best films of the year.

Collateral is presented in the original 2.40:1 aspect ratio.  This transfer is excellent, making the most of the hi-def video in which the film was shot.  All the layers are sharply rendered, and the color levels are amazing.

There are several options on this DVD, all of them superb.  There are tracks in DTS 5.1, Dolby Digital Surround 5.1, and Dolby Digital Surround 2.0.  There is also a French track in Dolby Digital 5.1.  The presentation is crisp, and everything from the quiet of the cab to gunshots to nightclub interiors are well rendered.

With a second disc entirely devoted to features, this DVD is loaded.  The material here offers rare detail as to the actual hows and whys of the film.

Audio Commentary With Director Michael Mann: A great commentary track.  Mann breaks down this film scene by scene, talking about everything from how the actors prepared to why he chose to shoot in HD.  Very interesting.

City of Night: The Making of Collateral: A comprehensive behind-the-scenes featurette, showing everything from how the actors prepared to how scenes were shot.

Special Delivery: A short but interesting clip showing Tom Cruise in one of his preparation exercises.  This is one to see...

Deleted Scene With Commentary: A cut scene that would have come just before Vincent’s hit on the Korean gangster.  A strong scene, cut only as not to lose the momentum.  Mann’s commentary is insightful.

Shooting On Location: Annie’s Office: Mann talks about this scene at the end of the film, filmed almost entirely in the dark.  He talks about how it was shot, and how it would not have been possible without HD video.

Tom Cruise and Jaime Foxx Rehearse: Rehearsal footage of the two leads, with the final scenes for comparison.

Visual FX: MTA Train: The last sequence of the film was shot against a green screen.  Here, Mann explains why.

Also featured here are cast and filmmaker bios and extensive production notes.