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Miami Vice by Mr. Blaine
Finally, Classic TV Remade Well
In days past there have been many exceptional crime film directors, from France�s Jean Pierre Melville to America�s Raoul Walsh and Howard Hawks (based on the strength of �The Big Sleep� and �Scarface� alone). The gems from days yonder are never ending. However, in recent years, the crime genre has very few greats. In fact there are so few it is almost not worth mentioning. Other than Brian De Palma (�Scarface�, �The Untouchables� and the upcoming �Black Dahlia�), Quentin Tarantino (�Reservoir Dogs� and �Pulp Fiction�) and Martin Scorcese (�Taxi Driver�, �Goodfellas�, and the upcoming �The Departed�), only one name can be mentioned in the entire world when discussing mastery of the modern crime film, Michael Mann. Sure some will blubber out Guy Richie, but let�s face it his films have the depth of a dried up lake and he basically makes the same film over and over and over again. Yes, I will credit the masters of Asian crime films like John Woo (who hasn�t made a watchable film in almost 2 decades) and Takashi Miike (�Ichi the Killer�), but none of those comes close to the gritty reality that Michael Mann creates in his films. I would go into an analysis of the genius of films like �Heat�, �Collateral�, and �Manhunter�, but I�m sure you don�t feel like reading a 20 page novelette of a gushing fan. I�ll stick to his latest opus, �Miami Vice�.
First of all, this film needs a new title. It shouldn�t be bogged down by the stigma attached to the cheesy 80�s TV show. This film relates to that show in these following ways and these following ways alone. It takes place partly in Miami, the main characters have the same names as the show, and they are vice cops. That�s it. Period. The characters actually wore socks with their shoes and there never was an instance of a white blazer with a pink shirt. Thank �god�. Sure they were with gorgeous women, but it actually served the need of the plot.
So onto the film.
In rare form this movie started right in the middle of a story. Instantly you watch how these cops work (which turns out to be the point of the film). In the midst of this case a phone call comes in redirecting the course of the film and starting a string of events you can�t take your eyes off of. I won�t get into the plot of the film beyond those couple sentences because frankly you can read about it anywhere. What you get in this film is something unique to cop films. You actually get to see them work the case from beginning to end and not get bogged down with generic character arcs. All you know about these cops is that their life is their work, literally. They really don�t have an opportunity to be themselves as when they are in the case they embody the character they are playing. They have to or else they die. The only other work I can compare this film to is the Peabody winning HBO TV series �The Wire�. Both of these show you how the world of an investigation actually works. They don�t waste that much of your time on the clich�d broken lives of the cops working the case. Mann knows that the cases they are working are far too interesting to waste time on plot contrivances like daddy neglects his kid because he is so wrapped up in his work until his kid gets kidnapped and daddy wins his kids heart back by risking it all (even the case) to save said kid. When someone gets kidnapped in Miami Vice you don�t see long scenes of the cops drinking a bottle of bourbon while wondering what to do. They act fast and get the job done. This story (like life) doesn�t have the time to waste for the cops to go back and forth from their fabricated undercover persona back to their real persona and then back again. When they are undercover, they are undercover until the case is closed. I did find myself wondering how much you may become your undercover persona and leave behind what you were before. I�m sure the lack of characterization in this film will be a problem for most people that don�t get what this film is about. Normally, it would be a problem for me. However, I was far too intrigued watching how these guys get undercover and then watching how the whole operation is run.
Don�t be mistaken, this is not your typical summer action film. In fact, this isn�t an action film at all. There is action, but it is very sparse. When it comes it�s fast, it�s unexpected, it�s vicious, and it�s brutal. Mann pulls no punches here. 60 caliber guns blow limbs off. There is blood when people get shot and a lot of it. The trailer for this film does not do audiences favors as it gives the illusion of a film this isn�t. This isn�t some slick, glossy, blingy action film. This is a dirty realistic (mostly) crime film that will get the respect it deserves in the years to come. This is the underworld as only Michael Mann can portray it.
--Mr. Blaine
Miami Vice, starring Colin Farrel and Jaime Foxx, directed by Michael Mann, 2006, Universal.
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