Last night, while browsing Netflix's offer, I came across this movie and based on the short description the platform offers viewers and the short video clip that is meant to give you an appetite to watch, I decided to give it a chance.
The main reason for my decision was Jason Statham, whom I grew to like quite a lot. Some people may say he has no real talent and only knows one thing, which is fighting. I guess we all have our preferences and I stick to mine, which is valuing Jason Statham's work as an actor. It was a huge slap on my face to realize, he has 20 or 30 seconds screen time and his character doesn't even have a name. Tom Cruise must have been afraid Statham could steal the spotlight. Anyway, let's move on.
Looking back now, I must have been really tired as I didn't even recognize Tom Cruise 😆 Yes, he is one of the lead actors in this movie, but as he had his hair dyed grey, to look older (I suppose) and he wore a suite, that was not tailored for his body, it wasn't obvious from the beginning, I needed a couple of minutes to recognize him.
A cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.
The movie starts with Max (Jamie Foxx) picking up his shift at the taxi company and driving clients across the city, till one point when he picks up an attractive lady. They start debating which route to take, then the conversation becomes a little more personal and at the end of the ride, Max gets the business card of Annie, who turns out to be a prosecutor. This ride seems to be just like any other ride on any other day, but later we learn that it wasn't.
His next client introduces himself as Vincent, who looks and acts like a businessman at first glance and hires Max for the rest of the night to drive him around the city and to the LAX after he finishes with his business appointments. Max is hesitant as it goes against company rules, but as always, money talks and Max has big plans he's saving for, so he agrees.
Vincent instructs Max to wait for him in the alley, and next thing we see is a dead body landing on the top of Max's car. He's not stupid, he puts two and two together and figures out what happened pretty quickly and also realizes he could be next if he doesn't do what Vincent tells him to do.
From this point on, things get a turn and it is not just about a cabby's journey through the night, chatting with interesting clients anymore, Max is not just a cab driver anymore either and things get complicated for everyone involved.
The story is not new, we've seen it several times during the years and I can't say the movie is spectacular either. If I were to use one word to characterize it, that would be weak. There are so many mistakes that are clearly visible and comprehensible, if you're not blinded by Tom Cruise's brilliant performance. Yes, I am being sarcastic.
The movie is from 2004, it's understandable surveillance and interception was not at the level it is now and painting the police force and the FBI as incompetent is the goal here to make the other party better, but there's a limit to stupidity as well. Some illogical and irrational decisions can't be forgiven.
The ending was not exactly what I was expected, I think it was rushed and could have been better, but still, it is better this way.
What I would mention at the end of my review is the acting. Jamie Foxx is not unknown to me, but I haven't seen him in many movies. He had a really great performance here, would not want anyone else in this role. The other actor that I'd like to highlight here is Jada Pinkett Smith. She had less screen time, but her emotions, face expression made the character more interesting.
Tom Cruise is Tom Cruise, it was really annoying seeing him dressed in that suit that was 2 size bigger than him. I'm not sure what the reason behind this decision was, maybe they wanted him to look taller, who knows, but it was awful. The other thing that was bothering was his grey hair as we've never seen him like that.
Anyway, if you're bored, you can watch it, but it's not one it'd bee stored in my memories for long. Surprisingly, it has a really good rating on IMDB, for some reason people liked it. Good for them.
Rating: 60/100
