Review

Review Date: 30-July-06
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Just OK

Miami Vice (2006)

Some people are possessed of a certain amount of attractiveness and depth yet you still don't like them. They might interest you somewhat but don't impress you. You don't dread their company but don't seek it either. You run into them and think, "Nice work, best wishes" and then happily head off in the other direction.

If movies were people, "Miami Vice" would be such a person.

"Nice work" may be a bit of a stretch, but Michael Mann's adaptation of his '80s TV show does have its admirable traits. His mesmerizing narrative style is on full display in the saga of detectives Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx), two manly men who wear sport jackets even in the hottest weather. If Ricardo is the brains in the partnership, Sonny is the penis, his hotheaded impulses landing them undercover in a drug-trafficking syndicate. It also lands him in a risky affair with the kingpin's mistress (Gong Li), an icy businesswoman who might be trouble or just might need a manly man. The action is set in gritty hues against the tempestuous Miami sky, at once both stylized and plausible. The characters appear realistic as well, only there isn't any reason to care.

It's a strange sensation, really, sitting in a theater enveloped in the atmosphere Mann creates while feeling completely detached from its particulars. Nothing about "Miami Vice" generates any emotion whatsoever, not the sex or shootouts, rhumbas or rescues that ought to excite at the least. Mann dumps the audience into the story midstream without introducing appreciable goals or personalities, and nothing develops along the way. Even when Ricardo fears losing his lover and fellow cop (Naomie Harris) to the harshness of their vocation, the climate runs cold. The leading men seem to enjoy a nice camaraderie, but who were they before this assignment and how will they be different after? What do they love about their job: the thrills, the teamwork, or the toys? Is a familiarity with the TV show (which I lack) a requisite for appreciating the film? I don't know; but I do know that the movie resembles a sensational reality cop show more than a drama which draws you in, turns you about, and sends you home changed or grinning.

Copyright © 2006 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.