With Tom Cruise in the limelight once again, it’s the ideal time to watch one of his best performances, from the 2004 crime thriller Collateral. Cruise doesn’t play many villain roles, but he knocks it out of the park as an imposing, self-confident ᴀssᴀssin in Collateral. Jamie Foxx also delivers a great performance as a Los Angeles taxi driver who gets caught up in the ᴀssᴀssin’s night of murder and mayhem. The story takes place over the course of a single night, so Collateral maintains a frantic pace throughout, and this raises the tension to near-unbearable levels.

Collateral is one of Michael Mann’s best movies, combining the infectious criminal drama of Heat and Thief with the powerful presence of the villain in Manhunter. Mann always seems at home in the crime genre, but Collateral focuses on an unwitting civilian as the protagonist. Foxx’s everyman taxi driver is easy to root for, and a standout among Mann’s most iconic characters. He acts as a conduit for the audience at times, which allows Cruise to go big with his eccentric villain. Mann sets the drama against the moody, atmospheric backdrop of Los Angeles. He proves once again that few directors can do cool like he can.

Collateral Features Tom Cruise In A Rare Villain Role

Vincent Is A Cold-Blooded Hitman

Collateral wouldn’t be half as effective as it is without a compelling villain. Fortunately, Cruise is on top form as Vincent, the hitman with ice in his veins who has five targets spread across the city in one night. There are a few flashes of what Cruise is known for – like his winning blend of wry humor and intensity – but mostly, it’s a performance that’s full of surprises. From his first scene, Cruise completely commands the screen, bringing an unsettling presence to the story. It takes a while for him to reveal the true depths of his sociopathic detachment, however.

Vincent can come off as charming and anonymous when he wants to. There are glimpses of this in his initial meeting with Max, but he kicks things up a gear when he visits Max’s mother in the hospital. The dramatic irony of this scene is terrifying, since it represents the moment that Max can no longer simply cut and run. Cruise’s performance draws attention to this idea, even as Vincent is seemingly playing the part of a respectable friend. Vincent is a chameleon, and Cruise is utterly convincing in every guise that the hitman presents to the world.

In the decades since Collateral, Cruise still hasn’t played another villain, and this has made his performance as Vincent even more interesting. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the story, but there’s an added layer for audiences familiar with Cruise’s filmography. It’s oddly disturbing to see an actor known for playing heroes inhabiting such a cruel and calloused character. Collateral is a complete subversion of Cruise’s on-screen persona, like Denzel Washington’s performance in Training Day or Henry Fonda in Once Upon a Time in the West.

Collateral Proves That We Need One More Villain Turn From Tom Cruise’s Career

Cruise’s Future Has The Potential To Surprise People

In recent years, Tom Cruise has almost exclusively starred in blockbuster action movies as the indomitable hero. Aside from the success of the Mission: Impossible franchise, he has appeared in Top Gun: Maverick, Jack Reacher and Edge of Tomorrow. With his time as Ethan Hunt seemingly coming to an end, his future is a little uncertain. He’s attached to Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu’s next movie, and other projects like Top Gun 3 are in the pipeline, but he could be freed up for some more surprising original projects. Now could be the perfect time to return to a villain role.

Playing another big-screen villain would be a statement of intent from Cruise, proving that he still has the capacity and the desire to surprise audiences. Everybody knows that Cruise is good at what he does, but he’s also an actor with three Oscar nominations, and his recent roles don’t necessarily flaunt his pedigree. Cruise seems intent on risking life and limb to entertain his audience, constantly one-upping himself with absurd stunts. However, if he wanted to remind everyone of his rare qualities as an actor, playing a villain would be an unexpected but shrewd move. Collateral certainly proves that he has it in him.