The Tom Cruise Movie You HAVE to Watch Tonight!

About two weeks ago, I wrote an article called, "Top 10 Best 'Mission: Impossible' Stunts!" where I talked about the ten craziest times Tom Cruise defied death in order to film exciting scenes for the MI franchise.

But Mission: Impossible is definitely not the only thing Cruise is known for. Other notable films he has acted in are Top Gun, Risky Business, Jack Reacher, A Few Good Men, Rain Man, and Jerry Maguire.

The thing with Tom Cruise is it's very easy to dislike him for his personal life, but it's also extremely easy to respect him for the amount of work he puts into all his performances, which is why he's one of my favorite actors.

And while many know Cruise for the movies that I listed above, a surprisingly small amount of people know him for the movie that I believe is one of, if not, his best performances to date. The movie I'm referring to is Collateral.

You probably haven't heard of or seen this movie, but Collateral is a 2004 crime thriller with Cruise and Jamie Foxx as the two main leads, with Jada Pinkett Smith and Mark Ruffalo in supporting roles.

And this is probably Cruise's most underrated movie he's ever made. This film is absolutely fantastic and I'm gonna elaborate on why.

Many know Cruise's characters as "the good guys" who always do the right thing. He's established himself as an action hero, with his most notable action role being IMF agent Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible movies.

But in Collateral, Cruise moved far away from this type of role. In this film, he portrays Vincent, a smooth-talking professional hitman hired to kill four witnesses and a prosecutor.

We finally get to see Cruise portray a villain. In the film, he pays an innocent taxi driver named Max (portrayed by Foxx) to drive him around several stops in Los Angeles, where he sets out to kill the people he's been hired to kill.

Meanwhile, LAPD Detective Ray Fanning (portrayed by Ruffalo) monitors the murders, trying to find the person behind it all.

And I just want to say that Cruise's antagonistic performance is phenomenal. I love his portrayal of Vincent because he doesn't really seem unhinged, nor does he believe what he does is "evil." He simply kills because it's his job.

I'd also consider Vincent a Hans Gruber-esque villain. He's usually pretty calm and polite, but he isn't afraid to kill people and if you piss him off, he can become incredibly scary and unpredictable with the drop of a hat.

Cruise is also able to play this role with a good amount of charm and charisma, bringing a real likable quality to a professional killer. But he remains an unpredictable villain, as it's quite thrilling wondering what he'll do next.

And as for the film in general, it's fantastic. You don't find yourself bored by all the dialogue, but instead find yourself immersed in it. This crime thriller doesn't have you begging for the next action scene, and the pacing is honestly really good.

I know I've mainly been complimentary towards Cruise's performances, but I also loved the performances of Foxx and Ruffalo. The film was written by Stuart Beattie, and as a screenwriter, a script as fantastic as this one is a script that I would DREAM of writing.

Michael Mann's directing in this movie is also quite incredible. The film uses neo-noir lighting and lens flares to its advantage, and paints a beautiful picture of nighttime Los Angeles.

To me, Vincent has the skills of John Wick, the demeanor of Hans Gruber, and the rationale of Killmonger.

I wish Cruise would play these types of roles more often. As much as I LOVE watching Cruise save the world as action hero Ethan Hunt, he completely sells as this villain who kills for a living.

So, while Mission: Impossible – Fallout is my favorite Tom Cruise movie, Collateral is my favorite Tom Cruise PERFORMANCE. It's a solidly good movie that keeps you entertained whether it's during a quick action sequence or a dialogue between Max and Vincent in the car.

GO WATCH THIS MOVIE!!! YOU WON'T REGRET IT!

Rating: R for language and violence (It's not that bad, though.)