Fat Ninja

Now with less pastel clothing 

When it was first announced that Hollywood was seeking to adapt the hit show Miami Vice for the big screen, my initial reaction was a mixture of exasperation and contempt. I immediately envisioned a film helmed by Michael Bay of Bad Boys fame. I imagined a hollow action flick that relied on flashy camera tricks to overcome a lifeless plot centering around flaccid characters. I fully expected a film that would bludgeon its audience into submission through shock-and-awe pyrotechnics and gunplay, leaving them too stunned to notice the rushing air of the intellectual vacuum left in the film’s wake. On account of these suspicions, I quickly dismissed the big screen version of Miami Vice, and it dropped off of my radar as quickly as a drug-runner’s Cessna.

That is, until I caught wind of news that Michael Mann, the director behind two of my favorite movies (Heat, Collateral), would be helming the project. Suddenly, I had a reason to not only see the movie, but also to believe that Miami Vice would not only be a good movie, but that it might actually do the television show justice. Now, before we proceed, you should know that I am not, by any means, steeped in the finer points of the TV series. However, I’ve seen enough to have had certain expectations going into the theater last night.

Now, I’ve never considered Miami Vice to be an accurate representation of what vice squad work is actually like, and that certain liberties were taken in the interest of entertainment. However, the television series was well ahead of the curve in terms of its gritty sense of realism. In truth, I think Miami Vice paved the way for a lot of the current top action-drama TV series out there.

It wouldn’t be Miami Vice without exotic cars, now would it?

Michael Mann’s handling of the adaptation is actually very faithful to the mood and atmosphere of the show (at least how I remember it). Never one to shy away from society’s dark underbelly, Mann drives the narrative in his signature fashion. Beautifully shot panoramics of the Miami skyline juxtapose intimate close-ups of the characters to accentuate the strength and importance of human relationships in the film. Shot composition and cinematography on a whole is deftly handled, and Mann is definitely in his element. There were a few overly drawn intimate sequences, but once I completed the film I understood their necessity for really establishing the gravity of the attachment between our heroes and their respective lovers; and despite being a bit longer than one might expect, they are nonetheless handled quite artistically. Opposite the artful and sumptuous handling of the film’s backdrops and dramatic elements, action sequences are the perfect foil. Raw and brutal, shoot-outs in Miami Vice are handled with the harsh, hard honesty that Michael Mann has always invested in his films. From the deadly effects that a 12-gauge shotgun can have on the human anatomy to the subdued “pop-pop” of small arms fire, Miami Vice just exudes authenticity in its action sequences.

Sonny Crockett

In terms of casting, Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell both do commendable jobs of portraying hard-nosed undercover vice cops Rico Tubbs and Sonny Crockett. Each one manages to remain faithful to the characters that were built and developed by Don Johnson (Crockett) and Philip Michael Thomas (Tubbs) during the show’s five season run. Other roles are played with equal talent, and while I would have loved to see Edward James Olmos return as Crockett’s and Tubbs’ handler Lt. Martin Castillo,Barry Shabaka Henley fills out the role quite nicely.

Miami Vice is a blast

FINAL THOUGHTS
Despite my initial reservations about how well the popular TV series would translate to the big screen, Michael Mann has once again proven that few are quite as adept at bringing epic crime sagas to life. His abilities to coax brilliant performances from his actors is rivalled only by his ability to capture the stark, unrefined essence of society’s criminal side.

OVERALL RATING: Well worth your time and money.

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