2006’s “Miami Vice”, written and directed by Michael Mann.
Starring Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li Gong, Naomi Harris,
Barry Shabaka Henley, and Ciarán Hinds.
Michael Mann became a household name with his 1984-1990
television series, “Miami Vice”. Starring Don Johnson and Philip Michael
Thomas, “MV” was a neon soaked tribute to the flashy eighties where they played
undercover cops. The show was less about procedural police methods and
characters, and more about visuals and an accompanying soundtrack (Phil
Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” anyone?).
Mann moved on to movies, keeping his distinctive sense of
style intact, but also developing a sense of intense professionalism from his
respective heroes and villains. Mann was approached by Jamie Foxx about re-doing
“MV”, but Mann would only do it if the show was modernized. Gone are the iconic
cheese of Jan Hammer’s show opener, as well as the neon and pastel colours so
dominant in “MV”’s era. They are replaced by gunmetal grays and neutral hues,
as well as a grainier digital camera look.
In the 2006 version, we’re introduced immediately to
Crockett and Tubbs, now played by Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox, operating as
always undercover in the Miami underworld. An undercover deal goes bad, and an
informant commits suicide, bringing up questions of trust from within the
various police organization partnerships. Crockett and Tubbs infiltrate a
dangerous Columbian Cartel, having to do some major acting to convince the
cutthroat businessman that they are for real. Crockett also starts something on
the side with the cartel’s accountant, further complicating things. Eventually
a team member is kidnapped, and the team has to attempt rescuing them, revealing
their hand, before a propulsive showdown.
The colour schemes aren’t the only thing that has changed- the
Miami we see today has also seen modern globalization at work. The Columbian
cartels are joined by white supremacists, and flanked by Asian accountants and
Portuguese bartenders. The television show’s sometimes goofy flash and panache
have also been replaced by a sense of driven angst, both exemplified by Linkin
Park’s “Numb” in the background, and the show’s conclusion, as the duo is forced
to examine whether the life of undercover cops (who drive Ferrari Testarossas
and speed boats) is everything its cracked up to be. Mann’s decision to shoot
digitally (as per his 2005’s “Collateral”), is a misstep in my opinion. While
Mann claims that he likes being able to film at night and still be able to see
every single light source, I prefer darkness and atmosphere (at nighttime in the
backgrounds) over grainy light pollution where there is no darkness to be found
anywhere.
“MV” is lean and focused as any Mann film, but it doesn’t
quite work, as the heart of the original series was always about the excessive
life styles of the protagonists and the outrageous lengths the show went to
appeal to the MTV crowd.
We take those basic character archetypes and plop them
in a time machine to the next millennium, and find grim protagonists and
sociopathic antagonists, who still feel the need to play cops and robbers. Mann
has always excelled at this trope (and shots of characters staring at water), but “MV” feels muddled as a result, as he
tries to pay tribute to something faddish and outdated. That’s hardly a crime,
but it does rank “MV” below such Mann favourites such as “Heat”, “Thief”,
“Collateral”, “Manhunter”, and “Last of the Mohicans”.
3/5
No comments:
Post a Comment