'Miami Vice' is a technically sound film, but the script is hampered by bland characters and clichéd situations
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I met the news of a feature film version of "Miami Vice" with great trepidation. Other than "The Fugitive", big screen versions of TV shows have never been big successes, either critically or financially. Recent releases such as "Bewitched", "Dukes of Hazzard", and "The Honeymooners" were all flops. More worrisome, I thought the filmmakers would turn everything into one long joke, ala "Starsky & Hutch." It'd be easy to poke fun at the show's pastel-colored outfits. Too bad most people remember "Miami Vice" more for its gaudy fashion, rather than the moments of grittiness and cynicism that were mixed in with the bikinis and flamingos.
Having been involved with the show from the ground up, Michael Mann returns as the writer and director for this updated remake. Colin Farrell is Don Johnson's successor as Sonny Crockett, sans pet alligator, while Jamie Foxx steps into the role of Crockett's partner, Rico Tubbs. Both men work as undercover agents for the Miami-Dade police department. In the middle of a case, Crockett receives a frantic call from a former informant, Alonzo (John Hawkes).
Alonzo's identity has been compromised, leading to the death of his wife at the hands of the Aryan Brotherhood. Not only that, but an undercover sting by a joint government task force is blown and several FBI agents are brutally killed. Crockett and Tubbs are pulled into the investigation by operation head, Fujima (Ciaran Hinds), who fears a leak in his department.
Posing as drug runners, the Miami boys are charged with making contact with a Columbian dealer named Jose Yero (John Ortiz), who uses the Aryans as his muscle. Moving deeper into the organization, Crockett and Tubbs discover Yero is only a small cog in a much larger outfit. Yero works under the more powerful Jesus Montoya (Luis Tosar) and his half-Chinese/half-Cuban lover and right-hand woman, Isabella (Gong Li). It is Isabella's presence that throws a monkey wrench into the operation when Crockett begins falling for her. Their romance sends takes them on a steamy night in Cuba. Not to mention, putting them under the suspicious and jealous eyes of Yero.
Legend has it that "Miami Vice" was pitched as "MTV cops." While music still plays an essential function in the feature-film version, it's hardly the bright, fast-paced world of the 80's. The trademark and easily recognizable theme by Jan Hammer is nowhere to be heard. Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" makes an appearance, but covered by nu-metal group, Nonpoint. It's fitting that the new version of that hit song pales in comparison to the original, since the film shares the same trait.
Let's start with the good.
This is a dark, dark place. Almost relentlessly so. Using the same high definition camera he used in "Collateral", Mann creates a similar look for "Miami Vice", especially in the night scenes. A cold place of steel gray and ominous yellows and greens. I'm glad to say this film looks far better on DVD than it did in the theater. On the big screen, I noticed several shots that looked like something out of a cheap home video. This bad digital look took me right out of the film. Not so anymore. Give Mother Nature and serendipity some credit as well. Much of the film was shot during hurricane season. The gray skies and flashes of lightning add an extra layer of drama to the proceedings.
Some reviews complained about the excessive length of the film and the rather slow pacing. I didn't have those same problems, at least, in the beginning. I thought the film started off in a great fashion, as an intricate procedural piece. We see how Crockett & Tubbs work their cases and network of accomplices. Even the bad guys have stepped up their game. With modern technology at their disposal, they're able to call up detailed profiles of their business associates. Mann captures every moment in a fluid manner that throws you into the midst of things. This could have easily been a fun genre film. One can look at the hostage standoff in the trailer park as an example of this.
Instead, boiled down to the basics, "Miami Vice" is a by-the-numbers crime story put together by emotionless and mechanical means. Crockett and Tubbs are one-dimensional through and through. It's a dilemma emblematic of the rest of the paper-thin characters. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx are both talented thespians, but neither man gets a chance to stretch their acting muscles. They have maybe two facial expressions throughout the film. Brooding and kinda brooding. Even worse, we never get a sense of the true friendship or camaraderie that should be taking place between these partners.
Don't expect the dialogue to flesh out their characters. Just about everybody in the film speak in these pithy one-liners. As if, they got them from fortune cookies printed off by a bunch of macho tough guys who watch nothing but noir. "...there is undercover and there is 'Which way is up?'" "Time is luck." "I'm a fiend for mojitos." These people are hardly the nuanced characters that populated "Thief" or "Heat", some of Mann's better work.
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[release]20022[/release]