I just love this guy's films: Heat (1995), The Insider (1999), Ali (2001)... I don't remember much about The Last of the Mohicans (1992), to be honest. I was trying to explain what I like about them to my wife... Ever since that balcony scene in Heat, where Neil and Eady are talking about how the cityscape looks like luminous algae in a body of water, I've noticed how Mann's city (L.A. in Heat and this one) is an ecosystem, alive in more than the traditional sense. It's as if we're catching glimpses of deep-sea animals in their habitat, or, switching to biology, blood vessels traveling through a circulatory system. (That's what makes the wolf in this one so cool, now that I think about it.)
Jamie Foxx was amazing; truly. That guy is an actor, no question. I suspected as much after seeing the Ray trailer, and this one just confirmed it. Cruise was himself, as usual, only grey, but that didn't take away from the film, thank goodness.
Note: spoilers follow...
I questioned a few moments in the movie, but the one that bugged me the most was when all hell broke loose at Fever: who was the guy that came in behind the table where the witness was sitting? The one who had his hands up, allowing the bodyguard to catch a glimpse of his gun? I assumed he was an FBI agent, since the only other armed players in the scene were Vincent (Cruise) and Felix's men, who had orders to intervene if things went wrong, which they hadn't at that point. So, assuming the guy was an FBI agent, what kind of entrace was that? No "We're here to get you and your boss outta here," or "FBI! We've got get your outta here now!" Just storm in and start wrestling the bodyguard for his gun? Strange. It was an awesome scene nonetheless.
Gotta watch this one many more times.
