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Of Vice and Men
One would think that aren't many people more qualified to bring an update of the 80's cop drama "Miami Vice" to the big screen than Michael Mann. Acclaimed for his directorial work on films including The Insider and Collateral, Mann has become known for his slick visual style and his dark, understated storytelling. On top of all that, he was there at the beginning of "Vice" and executive produced the thing for five years; if anyone were to prepare Crockett and Tubbs for movie life, it'd be Mann. Judging by the totality with which Mann's update fails, then, perhaps it's safe to assume that all our memories of "Vice" should be kept wrapped in pastel linen suits.
Mann brings Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) to the new millennium (no matter what Farrell's haircut might suggest), where they act as undercover agents after a breakdown in the FBI's handling of a case forces them to work with Miami's finest. Crockett and Tubbs act as cocaine dealers, where they get to sit in on stereotypical drug deals, where they say things like "if they didn't do the time with us, they can't do the crime with us." Their world is an ominously dark, whisper-serious one, and as they uncover more and more of the crime plot, Crockett and Tubbs find that they're almost part of the nasty underworld that they're supposed to be fighting, and in over their heads.
The film is, too; Vice, as a movie, is too dark and serious for its own good. Capitalizing on calculated pace with which he moved Collateral's plot, Mann keeps Vice on a slow burn. It's as if he's overcompensating for the cheesy machismo and over-the-top action of the series, making the point that he's a real film maker now. He even shoots without a steadicam, that pro. The technique achieves its goal, leaving behind a movie that starts with a bang but quickly plummets into non-action, the only bit of movement happening from the shaking of the camera - a true headache waiting to happen. Farrell is bland for two and a half acts, and by the time he wakes up, the audience is asleep. Foxx does reasonably well but has no chemistry with his partner in crime/crime fighting.
With only a few chases and gunfights worthy of the original series, Miami Vice leaves you wanting one of two very simple things: to be in the 80's, when the plot and characters behind the title were interesting; or to be in any other theatre, watching any other film.
Rating: * of 5
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