Miami Vice

B-

It's not that this movie is particularly bad. Michael Mann shows again, as a testament of his constant career, that he has an edge over other directors out there. His films are gritty and edgy, not just in the way they are shot, but also thematically and plotwise. Miami Vice is no different. At best it is what Bad Boys should be; at worse its plot risks drowning in its own emptiness.

Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Fox) are partners working for Miami P.D. drug squad. They are being recruited by the FBI in order to find a mole that has infiltrated either the FBI/DEA as their latest joint undercover was exposed. Crockett and Tubbs are ideal because they are outsiders and hence out of the grid, and they are allowed to remain that way. They work their way to smuggle for a Colombian drug kingpin, as Crockett becomes romantically entangled with his employer, Isabella (Gong Li), risking the operation's success and the duo's lives.

The most interesting part of Miami Vice was how it shows drugs being smuggled into the U.S. The process that Crockett and Tubbs had to go through to be deemed genuine and reliable by the cartell to transport their products, and how they intended to bring them into the country are presented in a fresh manner. The least interesting part of the movie was the romance that blossomed between Crockett and Isabella. While one can say that this makes such a movie - mainly about sturdy testosterone - unique by adding a little sentimental complication, it also risks losing the audience as they are forced to watch something unwelcome. To be fair, however, Gong Li's presence added intrigue because of her performance which is superbly genuine. But we have seen this romance story before, in movies where it actually belongs.

The movie's 2-hour running length could have been cut much shorter, presenting a lean movie which does not beg the revelation that plot exposition goes nowhere. In fact, one could argue that the events in Miami Vice kind of changed the entire course of the movie. What stays constant was the presence of the real Bad Boys, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx. They have the attitude, but their essences are somewhat hidden by the plot-heavy story and Mann's heavy-handed use of shaky cameras and shady photography. Also, Mann focuses most of the story on Crockett, and during those times, we cry for Tubbs to come back to the screen.

On top of it all, the movie has surprisingly little action. As story develops, we get lush aerial photography of South American landscapes, and slick shots of high speed cars and boats and planes, but adrenaline didn't get to start pumping until the last 30 minutes. And after all that, we know we've watched something a little different, but it's movie's attitude that strikes you most, not the plot which no one likely will remember for long.
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