BlownPotential

Miami Vice
Review by Joel Fowler

Seldom is the instance when a critic will admit that a remake is a good idea. Maybe it’s something in our DNA? Or, maybe it’s just the sad fact that many of us are fledgling screenwriters who grow increasing frustrated as another rehash is churned out, leaving another one of our brilliant, new concepts out in the cold. However, the argument for a reformulation of Michael Mann’s 1980’s smooth criminal (and even smoother detective) television series Miami Vice is a convincing one.

Why? Well, let’s reexamine the scene of the crime (story). In the last twenty years, Miami’s South Beach has taken on a fresh and exciting vibe of its own, becoming an intriguing character in its own right. Advances in film technology, such as digital recording and computer graphics, make such a story’s grand action sequences both cost effective and visually stunning. Last (and most certainly not least), with Mann’s successful big screen track record (with such hits as Heat and Collateral), Hollywood’s purse strings suddenly become more flexible, allowing the director the ability to tell a more complete (i.e. big budget) revisiting of Detectives James ‘Sonny’ Crockett and Ricardo ‘Rico’ Tubbs.

Unfortunately, high dollar signs do not automatically equate to high art (just ask anyone who bought a Jean Michel Basquiat painting around the time the original television show was popular). This grimly-lit cinematic vision of Miami Vice will leave fans of the NBC drama confused and connoisseurs of the explosion genre greatly disappointed and bored.

What made people love Don Johnson’s Sonny Crockett was that actor’s infusion of humility into the character. Colin Farrell simply fails to implement an ounce of this joy juice into his portrayal of a Florida cop that’s both stone-faced and stoic.

While he has the ability to construct interesting and concise plotlines in his films (see Al Pacino–Russell Crowe’s pairing in The Insider), Mann gets a little overzealous in storytelling, making Miami Vice feel like a 2½-hour episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and Notorious. Sadly, it appears the only winner coming out of Miami this summer is the NBA champion Heat.

Potential: Blown

Also recommended Inside Man (2006), Collateral (2004), Heat (1995).

Miami Vice is directed by Michael Mann and stars Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. It opens July 28^th and is rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content.