Fare meters meet 9mms in Michael Mann’s 2004 action movie about a Los Angeles cabbie (Jamie Foxx) who unknowingly picks up a hitman (Tom Cruise).

Along with films like Panic Room, Phone Booth and Inside Man, Collateral is one of those post-911 thrillers that injects enough intelligence into its bravura action to keep you glued to the passenger seat. Mann never takes his foot off the gas, and the two-hour runtime flies by in a streak of neon and chrome.

A film that mostly takes place in one taxi calls for dynamic direction, and Mann is the man for the job, bringing his Uber-cool style to the high-concept neo-noir. He captures Los Angeles with the same gritty glow he brought to Heat, visually slick without seeming sterile. The claustrophobic action is masterfully shot, as clear as the racial dynamics between the controlling white suit and the black taxi driver.

Considering how psychotic he is in heroic roles, Cruise is ingeniously cast against type as the cold, calculating villain, his precise, mechanical movements and chrome-plated appearance recalling the Terminator. Foxx is nervily believable as the cabbie having the worst day since Travis Bickle, alongside a diverse and star-studded cast that includes Jada Pinkett Smith, Mark Ruffalo and Javier Bardem.

Mann takes us on a whistle-stop tour of LA by night, running the cultural gamut from jazz clubs to Latin discos and Korean nightclubs. The music adds to the movie’s momentum, with The Roots, Miles Davis, Paul Oakenfold, Audioslave and Bach driving the varied soundtrack.

Even when the story takes some very action movie turns, the film’s sly humour and tight plotting keep the show on the road, making Collateral a ride well worth taking.