BASED
ON THE TELEVISION SERIES CREATED BY ANTHONY YERKOVICH
SCREENPLAY
BY MICHAEL MANN
PRODUCED
BY PIETER JAN BRUGGE & MICHAEL MANN
DIRECTED
BY MICHAEL MANN
GENRE:CRIME/ACTION/DRAMA
RATED:AUSTRALIA:MA/UK:15/USA:R
RUNNING
TIME:134 MIN
Based
on the popular 1980's TV show -which benefited from the talent of
the movies writer/director Michael Mann- Miami Vice is a decent
re-make which is high on style but stumbles with a confusing plot
and questionable acting.
Unlike other movies that have had the re-make treatment, Miami
Vice does away with the origin angle starting smack bang in the
middle of a bust led by Miami undercover cops Sonny (Colin Farrell)
and Rico (Jamie Foxx). When a confidential informant gives up the
names of under cover FBI agents who are dealing with white supremacists,
the agents are killed leaving their investigation blown wide open.
Wanting in on the case Sonny and Rico are recruited by the FBI who
find that the Aryan brotherhood are only at the bottom of the food
chain and the real threat comes from Columbian drug baron Jose Montoya
(Luis Tosar). Flying over to Columbia, Sonny and Rico establish themselves
as drug couriers as they develop a working relationship with Montoya
only for things to get complicated when Sonny falls for Montoya's
woman Isabella (Gong Li), as Montoya's head of surveillance Jose Yero
(John Ortiz) begins to be suspicious of their activities.
Under the watchful eye of director Michael Mann, Miami Vice
is a visual delight as Mann's usual flare for color stands out. Yet
his precise direction squeezes the life out of the movie, making it
a very tense watch with no room to breathe, the moments of suspense
coming across very flat.
The casting of Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx is spot on; the only problem
is their performances come across as one note interpretations of male
machismo. There is no depth to their characters, but you will find
brooding galore. I am a fan of both actors but neither brings there
charismatic best to the table and much of that falls at the shoulders
of Mann.
Gong Li is woeful as Isabella, the woman who Sonny falls for seemingly
out of no where, again another oversight in Mann's flimsy script.
There are just too many questions and no answers; why are Aryans working
with Columbians? Why is Montoya's girlfriend Asian? Why do Sonny and
Isabella flaunt their relationship in public when the consequences
will be fatal?
For a man who is seemingly obsessed with details to constantly create
blunders, Mann has tarnished what could have been another crime classic.
Ok, yet highly disappointing.
