miamivice

THE SYNOPSIS

Sonny Crockett (Farrell) and Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs (Foxx) are undercover narcotics cops in Miami, Florida. Their days and nights are filled with bad people, guns, drugs, booze, sexy women and more baddies.

They soon learn that a high-level leak in their division has caused the deaths of two undercover FBI agents and an informant’s family by an Aryan Brotherhood gang who are also hooked up with a global drug cartel. On the request of FBI’s Agent Fujima (Hinds) and the blessing of their boss, Lt. Castillo (Henly), Crockett and Tubbs immerse themselves into the exotic and dangerous world of drug trafficking.

Hooking up with the cartel of the aristocratic Montoya (Tosar), the good guys begin to work with his middleman Yero (Ortiz) and his beautiful Chinese/Cuban financial officer, Isabellla (Li). Yero distrusts the undercover cops from minute one while Isabella begins a torrid affair with Crockett.

Down the line, things get hairy when the Crockett and Tubbs are ratted out and have to defend themselves against Yero, Montoya and the Aryan Brotherhood--who have kidnapped Tubbs’ girlfriend/fellow police officer Trudy (Harris). Defense becomes offense when our protagonists, along with their unit and Fujima, wage war on the villains.

Bodies hit the floor and villains are eliminated. Crockett saves Isabella and takes her back to Cuba while Trudy is saved as well but ends up in the hospital, with Tubbs in tow. Crockett returns to Florida to be by his partner’s side.

THE CRITIQUE

Say what you will, but it’s definitely not your father’s MIAMI VICE (nor mine for that matter, as I grew up watching the original show). In fact it is the very antithesis of it’s television forebearer.

Trading in the ‘80s excesses of brightly-colored clothes, go-go Reaganomic philosophies, high hair and cool pop tunes, this new incarnation (or should I dare say, reinterpretation) instead serves up a gritty platter of hard-hitting violence, money, sex & nudity and modern alternative tunes.

Since there’s so much to say about this $125,000,000 movie, I shall break down my comments into categories:

Directing/Screenwriting

Expertly-directed by Michael Mann (Collateral/Ali/The Insider/Heat), MIAMI VICE crackles with intensity and visual aura. While his scripting may be more by-the-numbers and convoluted, it surely isn’t less intelligent than other movies of the same ilk. One thing I can say about Michael Mann is that he is the architect of postmodern crime sagas and that’s where MIAMI VICE succeeds.

Acting

Stocking the picture with two of today’s hottest actors is definitely a marketing plus. And the fact that both Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx are damned good actors is the icing on the cake.

Yes, Irish-bred Colin Farrell seems to find time to be in the media limelight cause of his many antics--but he does have a smoldering presence on screen, much like the late, great Robert Mitchum did back in the day.

Also fine here is comedian-turned Oscar©-winner Jamie Foxx--who infuses his Rico Tubbs stoic character with attitude and loyalty and a real, cool demeanor that counters what Farrell brings to the screen. A nice pairing, if I may say so!

The supporting cast, featuring Hong Kong’s Gong Li and Spain’s Luis Tosar as Crockett’s love interest/Mob Moll and the quiet, sinister Cartel Boss are solid foundations. While I couldn’t really understand Li half of the time, I still enjoyed her performance. And Tosar’s low-key interpretation of the villain is a refreshing change from the usual, whacked-out bad guy found in many other movies.

I must say that the role of sociopathic henchman Yero, as played by Brooklyn actor John Ortiz, was entertaining as well. It’s hard to believe that under those beady eyes, designer glasses and thick beard was the same dude who portrayed Al Pacino’s doomed little cousin in 1993’s Carlito’s Way.

Cinematography

Having just come off of his Oscar©-winning lensing of Memoirs Of A Geisha, veteran Aussie cinematographer Dion Beebe (A.S.C., A.C.S.) reteams with Michael Mann (having worked together on Collateral) to terrific effect.

Another recent production that made use of the burgeoning HD video cameras and high-end format, MIAMI VICE was actually shot using both HD cameras (1080/24p) and good old-fashioned 35mm cameras for several sequences. The results are solid.

But remember, I’m a bigger fan of film stock than HD tapes--so while I feel that the HD-lensing shouldn’t be used on a big-budget project such as this one, I must say that in the hands of Beebe and Mann, this widescreen-movie looks damned good!

Editing

Crisp cutting and breakneck pacing gets a kudo for veteran editors William Goldenberg (Domino/The Insider/Heat) and Paul Rubell (Collateral/The Insider/Blade). While the movie clocks in at almost 2.5 hours, I was never bored.

Production Design/Location

Another bang-up job by veteran PD Victor Kempster (he also did work on many Oliver Stone movies). The sets are gorgeous whether they are modern-style domeciles, dark and velvety dance clubs or lovely, tropical-based homes of the rich and deadly. By the way, MIAMI VICE was shot not only in Miami, Florida--but also in exotic locales such as The Dominican Republic, Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay. Hell you’da thought it was a James Bond picture!

Music

Naturally, comparisons will be made against the TV shows’ plethora of pop tunes that featured the likes of Glenn Frey, Phil Collins and many other talented artists. This being the 21st century, you know that the song list will be quite different.

There’s sure as hell no awesome-but-dated Jan Hammer electronic score to be found--instead replaced by such artists as Moby, NonPoint, Mogwai and some other bands that you’ve probably never heard of (or maybe have--if you’re too young to remember the original Miami Vice on primetime television!).

As far as the music goes, this soundtrack adds some aural layers to a dense celluloid landscape. Loved it!

THE BOTTOM LINE

A solid entry into the action/crime genres and a worthy follow-up to such Mann oeuvres as Collateral & Heat. MIAMI VICE has a pulse--albeit pumped by flashy visuals, tough-guy dialogue, skin, music, booze and guns.

A good-old fashioned American film about violence. And it’s a good thing that my girlfriend made me throw away that white blazer and turquoise pants ensemble; otherwise, I’d of worn them to the screening of this one!

CAST: Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, Naomie Harris, Ciaran Hinds, Justin Theroux, Barry Shabaka Henley, Luis Tosar, John Ortiz, Elizabeth Rodriguez

CREDITS: Director/screenwriter: Michael Mann; based on the television series created by: Anthony Yerkovich; Producers: Michael Mann & Pieter Jan Brugge; Director of Photography: Dion Beebe; Production Designer: Victor Kempster; Editors: William Goldenberg & Paul Rubell; Costume Designers: Janty Yates & Michael Kaplan; Music: John Murphy

AC/AL 2006 134m ENGLISH
N/SV