Miami Vice

Running for five seasons and 111 episodes on NBC between 1984 and 1990, Miami Vice was a show that helped rewrite the cop television show. Splashy, stylish and colorful, it not only rewrote the genre but more importantly helped re-energize the genre. The impact is easily seen in just about any police procedural released in the years since. So what's the follow-up? Well, naturally an unnecessary film adaptation, 2006's Miami Vice.

Working on a sting operation of a prostitution ring, Miami-Dade police officers Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Jamie Foxx) are called away suddenly when a former informant they've used calls them, talking wildly of a case among all sorts of nasty folks has gone seriously wrong. That case -- with FBI, DEA, drug cartels, Aryan Brothers, and many more involved -- goes poorly quickly, but Crockett and Tubbs get pulled into it as well, the longtime friends and detectives choosing to go deep undercover to hopefully pick up where the previously botched case left off. Can they somehow pull it off? The odds are stacked against them, and if things go poorly again, they've no one to get them out of the situation but themselves. And with all sorts of unsavory sorts involved -- including a potential leak within a government agency -- nothing is easy about this undercover case.

What a mess of a movie....and that's coming from someone who likes the finished product almost in spite of itself. This 2006 adaptation comes from director (and writer/producer) Michael Mann, an executive producer of the original television show and the director of Heat, Collateral, Ali, Last of the Mohicans and several others to his name. The film went way over budget, filming was less than pleasant with some cast drama, and it received middling to poor reviews. The criticisms are all valid with the main one being pretty obvious. Mann wrote the script...if it existed. It's hard to tell. Slow-moving scenes broken up by some intense staring and then a shootout extraordinaire finale. And yes, to repeat, I like this movie.

Story is overrated to the point of being unnecessary in Mann's film. Above all else, S-T-Y-L-E is key. He filmed in digital, giving 'Vice' an equal parts gritty, in your face look with a more polished, clean look. Filming locations in Florida, the Caribbean, Uruguay, Paraguay, they look phenomenal. This is a movie that doesn't have that overall clean, blockbuster feel. It is shot in the darkness and shadows like we're watching the real thing take place. You add in an eclectic soundtrack with everything from Audioslave to Moby and a lot of others mixed in along with a soft, almost trance-like score from composer John Murphy, and the little things come together nicely. Mann's ability as a visual director is never in question in my book. His movies look great and he composes shots with ease and talent, making it look almost effortless. The problem is when it is all style and basically no story.

I've seen a handful of the original Miami Vice episodes -- my parents watched it -- but I know the gist of the show. Mann decided to go out on a limb in many ways, but most importantly, in terms of character. Crockett and Tubbs are friends, buddies, partners in arms. Farrell and Foxx's version? There's decent chemistry between the two Miami-Dade detectives, but we're given no character/relationship background at any point so it's hard to root for them. Farrell gets far more screen-time (rarely a bad thing) as apparently Foxx was incredibly difficult to work with on-set, but it doesn't amount to much. Instead of flesh and blood characters, we get stylish anti-heroes, cops who know how to look cool, how to do a slow-motion walk like a champ, how to walk away from an explosion, how to have menacing conversations where nothing of said is of actual significance. Oh, and yes, I still liked this movie.

This ain't a cop story. It's a stylish, quasi-artsy cop movie with some odd detours, especially Farrell's Crockett falling hard for Isabella (Li Gong), an international drug dealer's right-hand woman. They go to Cuba, dance, drink and make sweet, passionate love in an extended sequence that accomplishes little. Meanwhile, Tubbs watches out for Trudy (Naomie Harris), his girlfriend and member of the team. Cue shower and sex scene! There is some charm in the Crockett/Isabella story, a doomed relationship that you know won't end well. Mann knows a doomed anti-hero better than anyone and Farrell embraces that character, the moody, almost sullen cop who begins to question what he's doing and the lengths he'll have to go to. I just wish there had been even a little character development other than passionate dance scenes and lots of meaningful looks and intense glances among characters.

Who else to look for? Along with Harris, the Crockett and Tubbs' team includes Justin Theroux, Elizabeth Rodriguez and Domenick Lombardozzi with Ciaran Hinds and Barry Shabaka Henley as two key superior officers. John Ortiz is excellent as Jose Yero, a cartel middle-man who suspects Crockett and Tubbs aren't what they're claiming with Luis Tosar as the drug czar hidden away in the Central American jungle. Also look for John Hawkes and Eddie Marsan in small parts.

So in the end, what can I say? I liked the movie. It's cool. Even though it takes itself far too seriously and has absolutely no sense of humor (there's maybe 3 smiles in the entire movie), it is fun. I thought Farrell was pretty good and carries things through its slower portions, especially with his dreamy hair and epic mustache. The style is cool, Mann assembling it all with ease in almost effortless fashion, albeit at the expense of the story. Things build nicely to a bone-thudding finale as an all-out war breaks out on a dock in the dead of night with heavy-duty automatic weapons tearing the silence open. The ending itself is weak, just kinda ends and boom, CREDITS! It isn't a very good movie -- more Blackhat than Heat unfortunately -- but I found myself entertained throughout. A measured final say.

Miami Vice (2006): ** 1/2 /****

Blackhat

Sometimes the formula is better than the finished product. That was my thought going into 2015's Blackhat, a colossal failure at the box office earlier this season. We mix director Michael Mann, star Chris Hemsworth and a cyber-thriller story....should be pretty good, right? Reviews and a very poor box office seem to indicate otherwise. Where does it end up then for this Michael Mann/Chris Hemsworth fan?

At a nuclear power plant in Hong Kong, a hacker causes the coolant pumps to overheat and eventually cause an immense explosion. Not long after, the same hacker unleashes his work on a mercantile exchange, making millions of dollars in the process by placing stocks in the right place. Chen Dawai (Leehom Wang), a military officer in China's cyber warfare unit, has now been placed in charge of the investigation, tasked with finding those individuals responsible for the attacks. As he investigates the attacks and how the hacker pulled them off, Chen realizes the code the hacker is using was actually written by...Chen himself, years before when he was in college. He actually wrote it with his roommate, Nicholas Hathaway (Hemsworth), now wasting in prison for a sentence because of his own hacking and computer crimes. Working together, Hathaway is granted release to help track down the hacker but time is in short supply. Could this hacker unleash another attack? If so, what's his end game?

I'm a huge Michael Mann fan. I love Last of the Mohicans, Heat, Thief, Collateral, and even like his less well-received efforts like Miami Vice, Public Enemies, and yes, this movie, Blackhat. I liked it. I did. I understand the objections but in spite of them a bit (while admitting they VERY much exist), I enjoyed this most recent Mann flick. Now that said, it seems not too many other people did. Released near the new year, 'Blackhat' cost around $70 million but earned only $17 million around the world. It's rocking a 5.4 at the IMDB and a 34% at Rotten Tomatoes. In other words, not good At All. There are some huge flaws that should have been dealt with, but if you're a Michael Mann fan, there's enough here to give a slight recommendation.

Probably the biggest complaint I have is that this movie feels far more like a cyber-thriller you would have seen in the late 1990s or even early 2000s, movies like Swordfish, Sneakers, The Net, Enemy of the State and many others. It feels dated, even a little past its prime. Yes, computer hacking is at an all-time high -- yeah for identity theft! -- but it's more the way Mann brings it to life. The opening scene as the power plant gets taken down "follows" the code as it races through the wires and computers and yeah, been there and done that countless times before. If this intro is supposed to look cool, it did....15 years ago. That's what is most surprising. Usually Mann is pretty up on things when it comes to his films -- period pieces, crime thrillers, biographies -- but this felt like a misfire considering that aspect of the film and its mildly successful attempt at timeliness.

So when you think of Mann movies, what comes to mind? For me, that's simple. When they work, we're talking bad-ass, renegade, freaking awesome, all that is man lead characters. We're talking Daniel Day Lewis' Hawkeye with a rifle in each hand running up a mountain. We're talking Pacino and De Niro mano-a-mano. We're talking James Caan in Thief, Tom Cruise in Collateral, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx in Miami Vice. Mann does a roguish anti-hero like nobody's business so a pairing of him, his script and Thor...um, Chris Hemsworth seemed logical. Other than Hemsworth not being my first (or 18th) choice to play a hacker, he makes the best of it. He's cool. He can mumble a line with line. He can seductively stare at both men and women. And when it comes down to it, and everything hits the fan, he's calm, cool and collected. Oh, and because he's a hacker, he can figure out seemingly impossible things with ease.

Who knows why audiences do and don't see certain movies. I wonder some if the lack of a recognizable cast beyond Hemsworth had anything to do with it. Wang's Dawai character is interesting but underdeveloped, an up and coming security officer who risks it all to get the job done. Wei Tang plays his sister, Chen Lien, loyal to a fault...until she develops feelings for Hemsworth's Hathaway. Yeah, the script goes there unfortunately. Oh, no, doomed love! As for Hathaway's relative team (i.e.: the ones making sure he doesn't bolt), there's an underused Viola Davis and an underused Holt McCallany with Andy On joining the group as a like-minded hacker. Also look for John Ortiz, Ritchie Coster and Yorick van Wageningen in key supporting parts.

There's a certain look and feel and touch to a Mann movie. He was shooting in handheld, shaky cam in digital long before others thought to do so. That look and feel of the movie is definitely there with a story mostly based in a very humid-looking Hong Kong, Malaysia and Indonesia. That Michael Mann style is there to burn. The set pieces are okay, but nothing too memorable with the exception of the finale at a crowded parade ground during a religious ceremony. Even then though, the finale disappoints because it could have packed quite a punch but instead goes for a far safer ending. Too bad.

So what's the biggest issue? It isn't the most action-packed movie. I'd say more than that it is even a tad slow to the point of being boring in a 133-minute running time. I did like it though in spite of its flaws, but just not as much as Mann's other previous ventures. A flawed recommendation.

Blackhat (2015): ** 1/2 /****

Public Enemies

In the age of the gangsters, the 1930s in Depression-era America, one name stands out above the rest. Sure, there's Pretty Boy Floyd, the Barkers, Baby Face Nelson, Machine Gun Kelly, Alvin Karpis, even Bonnie and Clyde. But the name John Dillinger stands out, Public Enemy No. 1, a gangster, bank robber and possible killer who rose to notoriety in the early 1930s. I reviewed this movie from 2009 that works as a quasi-biography, but rewatched it recently and updated the review. Here were go with 2009's Public Enemies.

It's 1933 in Crown Point, Indiana and John Dillinger (Johnny Depp) has been caught and is just being brought to prison, or so his guards think. Instead, the notorious bank robber has arranged a breakout, a group from his gang busting out with him. With his gang back together again, Dillinger goes on a spree, robbing banks all over Chicago and into Indiana and Wisconsin. The gangster feels the noose tighten around his neck, his notoriety forcing the government's hand in bringing him to justice. The Bureau of Investigation (the FBI) is in its infancy, J. Edgar Hoover (Billy Crudup) placing a young but capable agent, Melvin Purvis (Christian Bale), in charge of bringing Dillinger to justice. Using all the technology available to them, Purvis and his agents do everything they can to capture Dillinger, but can the notorious bank robber continue his crime spree?

This 2009 crime thriller is based off a book of the same name, Public Enemies, by author Bryan Burrough. It's a great read, non-fiction at its best. Burrough's book covers a ton of ground about one of the more violent, turbulent times in American history. The 1930s were the time of the gangster, killers, bank robbers and thieves working on a grand scale with a trail of fast cars, money and riches and dead bodies. Almost every single one of them died bloody and violent. It was a bloody, violent, fascinating time in American history. Originally thought of as a miniseries, Burroughs turned his research into a book. With so many people, places and incidents, the film version was condensed to John Dillinger vs. Melvin Purvis. It's a wise choice because Burroughs' novel as is would have been overwhelming.  

We meet other people, but this is Johnny Depp's movie as he brings John Dillinger to life. A sympathetic character? No, not quite. It is on the other hand a fascinating character to watch. The people who met him during his crime reign of terror, a lot of witnesses said he was charming, likable and friendly. One of the biggest movie stars around, Depp is the best thing going in this movie, making Dillinger a human being, not just a historical name. Depp's Dillinger seems to know the life he's chosen necessitates a live-fast, live-hard mentality. Knowledge of the historical facts or not, you just know Dillinger is leading a doomed life. Sooner or later, his luck will run out. It's really the only character here given any sort of development or characterization too, John given a love interest in Billie Frechette (Marion Cotillard), a coat check girl from a poor background who falls hard for the gangster, as does he for her. Depp and Cotillard have a believable, real chemistry, giving the story that necessary human element.

Who best to direct a high-arcing crime thriller? How about a director with movies like Heat, Thief, Last of the Mohicans and The Inside to his name? Michael Mann takes the helm here for this style-heavy period piece.  'Enemies' was filmed on location in Chicago and around the Midwest where much of the story actually took place. Chicago serving as a backdrop for a story is never a bad thing, giving an air of authenticity here. The suits, the hats, the gentleman gangsters, the cars, it all adds up a to a more than worthy time capsule to 1930s Depression-era America. If there's a fault, Mann is too interested in the style, not the substance. He shot with a digital format, giving those scenes an odd, fuzzy look. The editing is fast and hard -- almost schizophrenic -- to the point the movement is hard to follow. Replace some of that aggressive style which doesn't necessarily work with some more story and characterization, and then we're talking.

Depp's movie, no doubt, but in star power, Christian Bale isn't far behind. It's just star power though. Bale is a really good actor, but he's given little to do here. The real-life Melvin Purvis was a bit of a dunce, the movie choosing not to delve too much into that angle. Bale is okay, but it's a necessary, workmanlike part, nothing more. Crudup does a good job with his quick scenes as Hoover, a glorified cameo. As for Dillinger's gang, look for Jason Clarke, Stephen Dorff, David Wenham and another violent gangster, Stephen Graham as maniacal Baby Face Nelson. Stephen Lang is memorable as a Texas lawman, Charles Winstead, brought in to help Purvis, Rory Cochrane playing one of his fellow Chicago FBI agents. There's also quick parts for Channing Tatum, Carey Mulligan and Giovanni Ribisi, and in the case of Tatum and Mulligan, don't blink or you'll miss them. There's plenty of other appearances that probably deserve some attention, but they're not around long enough to mention.

That's one of the weaknesses in Mann's film. Condensing Burroughs' book and doing so with just one focus -- Dillinger -- is still a daunting task. I think it tries to accomplish too much. A year-plus of story, countless speaking roles, and a whole lot of history. Depp is excellent, that's not in question. The action is very exciting, especially the infamous Little Bohemia shootout. Mann does action and does it well. The heavy, automatic machine guns, the B.A.R.s, the heavy pistols, these are guns that pack a punch so there's something visceral and adrenaline-pumping in the action scenes. Something is missing though. It's cool, but the movie doesn't have a ton of heart. The last 30 minutes are the movie at its best, Purvis and the FBI closing in on Dillinger. One what-if scene has Dillinger walking into the Dillinger Squad office, surreal and cool. The same for Dillinger's death, a stylish, cool scene aided by Elliot Goldenthal's musical score.

A good movie but with some serious flaws. It could have been a classic, and maybe with a miniseries it would have been. Still, Johnny Depp is cooler than you.

Public Enemies (2009): ** 1/2 /****
Rewrite of July 2009 review

The Last of the Mohicans

Over the years, director Michael Mann has become known and highly respected for his ability to craft a crime story like nobody's business.  Movies like Heat, Miami Vice, Collateral, Thief, Public Enemies, all dealt with a criminal underworld, and Mann churns out movies like this that are always entertaining, stylish and highly professional with a polished look. But sprinkled in with these crime dramas are some equally entertaining flicks, including maybe his best work in a completely different genre, 1992's The Last of the Mohicans.

Completely comfortable in the world of modern city shootouts and back alley deals, Mann instead works here with a story based loosely -- very loosely -- on the classic novel by James Fenimore Cooper. It is a period piece heavy on historical accuracy of a story based in 1757 in the middle of the French and Indian War. Everything feels dead-on accurate from the clothes and apparel to the weapons and fighting styles of all the opposing sides.  That's just the basics though, Mann builds off this incredibly strong base and creates a nearly perfect movie.  A blend of romance and action, there's something for every movie fan.

It's 1757 and three frontiersman, Mohican warrior Chingachgook (Russell Means), his warrior son Uncas (Eric Schweig) and his adopted white son and noted rifleman Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis), survive on their own, completely ignoring the war raging around them in New York and the neighboring colonies. On the trail one day the trio saves the remnants of a British patrol from a Huron war party.  Riding with the patrol are Cora (Madeleine Stowe) and Alice Munro (Jodhi May), the daughters of Colonel Munro, the commander of the nearest British fort. Hawkeye and Co. agree to accompany them to the fort along with a British major (Steven Waddington) who wants to marry Cora. But while the British and French tear each other apart, there may be a bigger threat, a Huron warrior, Magua (Wes Studi), who seeks revenge on Colonel Munro and his family.

It's rare you watch a movie that puts everything together so well in a way that should please a large majority of moviegoers.  Looking for romance? You've got it as Hawkeye and Cora fall hard for each other, not to mention Uncas and Alice having some sparks.  But instead of just being a throwaway portion of the plot, the romance is actually interesting, and you get a feeling that it is all genuine.  Thrown together where at any moment either one could be killed, Hawkeye and Cora look and feel like they're truly in love.  As for the action, that's a dumb question if you've seen any Mann movie. If you haven't, the action on a small and large scale works.  Epic battles with hundreds of extras are countered with intimate one-on-one fights between two warriors. Graphic without being gory, the action presents an accurate look at what 18th Century combat must have been like.

How do I describe Daniel Day-Lewis as Hawkeye without exaggerating? His Hawkeye may be the coolest, most badass character...EVER. Day-Lewis doesn't scream out 'ACTION STAR' when you see him, but he delves into this character, an expert frontiersman and dead shot with a rifle.  Then piss him off by messing with his true love, and we've got a problem.  His romance with Stowe is dripping with chemistry, but he's able to put it aside when some killing is required.  Add in this great dynamic he has with Means and Schweig as his adopted family, and you've got a great character.  The funny thing is that none of these three have a ton of lines, but they establish early on this kinship, this bond they have.  Hawkeye's cool on his own, but add two more equally badass warriors, and we've got quite a trio.

When reviewing movies, I try to mention musical scores when one really sticks with me, but it's usually in a sentence or two.  Not so here as Randy Edelman and Trevor Jones turn in what's possibly one of the best all-time musical scores for a movie.  It's a score that is hard to peg on just one level because it works on a ton of levels.  Listen to the main theme HERE.  Mann filmed the whole movie in the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina, and paired with this phenomenal score, you get a feel of what an epic movie truly is.  The visual and the sounds fit together like puzzle pieces.  It's just one of many things that sets apart an average period piece from a much better, and in this case, classic movie.

Everything builds and builds here to maybe the best final 10 minutes of a movie to hit theaters in a long time.  With obvious SPOILERS, watch it HERE. For almost 10 minutes without more than a word or two spoken, Edelman and Jones' score plays as the final confrontation takes place on a cliff face overlooking an idyllic green valley.  There are moments that just thinking of them as I write this gives you that feeling like you've been punched in the stomach.  For as stylistically beautiful and emotionally moving as the ending is, it's a real downer in terms of story.  It has to end this way though.  A perfect end to a perfect movie.  I could write more, but the review's getting a little long already.  Just know this, give this one a chance and you surely won't be disappointed.

The Last of the Mohicans <---trailer (1992): ****/**** 

Thief

Before there was Heat, Collateral or most recently Public Enemies, even director Michael Mann had to start somewhere. Directing his first feature film, Mann was already showing a style that he's become famous for with 1981's Thief.

With some directors, it takes time for a personal style to develop, but with Mann and Thief, it wouldn't be hard to believe if someone had told me this movie was made in the late 90s when he had become a very bankable director. It has all the elements fans have become used to, and in some cases scenes that are almost completely duplicated with later efforts, but more on that later.

Working on his own as a safecracker, ex-convict Frank (James Caan) is at the top of his game and bringing in a pretty penny while doing it. With help from his partner, Barry (Jim Belushi), it seems there's not a safe or vault out there the two men can't take down. Frank has only one demand when it comes to jobs, only money or diamonds, nothing too exotic and he picks the jobs. But after one particularly successful job, Frank is approached by a fence named Leo (Robert Prosky) to work under contract exclusively for him.

Frank wavers at first, but decides to take the offer. His plan is simple; do a handful of lucrative jobs and walk away from his career as a thief with his new wife, Jessie (Tuesday Weld). Apparently, Frank's never seen a mafia movie to know that as long as you make money for organized crime, they're not going to let you go easily. So for the expert safecracker, the situation goes from bad to worse, and he must now find a way out. Story-wise, this is nothing that hasn't been dealt with before in movies, books, and TV shows. But with Mann at the helms, you barely even notice that this all sounds really familiar. He does everything so well, so smoothly, that I got so wrapped up in the movie I didn't even notice the familiar storyline.

Ranking up there with Robert Deniro's Neal McCauley and Tom Cruise's Vincent, Caan as Frank is a great anti-hero and the perfect hard-edged character to lead the movie. Caan is one of those few actors who is just cool standing there. He doesn't have to try or pretend to be somebody he's not. For God's sake the man played Sonny Corleone! As Frank, Caan gives one of his career's best performances. After serving 11 years in prison, he's making up for lost time whether it be with his career or his newlywed bride. The scene where the two really connect for the first time, check it out here, is one example of a similar scene Mann would use 14 years later in Heat. It's the perfect scene to really get to know a character, and Caan is dead-on in the scene and Weld matches him.

As Frank's wife, Weld delivers a strong performance as a woman with a similarly troubled past. At first, she doesn't know how to read Frank's advances, but comes to see him as he really is, honest, sometimes brutally so, straightforward and just looking to lead a happy life. Prosky provides a good villain who for much of the movie is just a business partner. Of course, any self-respecting moviegoer knows he's not as legit as he's made out and problems arise. Belushi in a smaller part makes the partnership between Frank and Barry completely believable with very little said between them. And surprisingly, Willie Nelson joins the cast as Okla, a convict and sort of mentor/father figure to Frank who's serving the last 10 months of his sentence. He's only in 2 scenes, but Nelson is strong in both, giving a depth to Frank's background we otherwise would have no idea about.

On to the movie's style which is evident from the opening credits and the first vault break-in, seen here. Much of the movie's tone has to be chalked up to the score from Tangerine Dream which is a moody, dark, intense, very 80s electronica score. At times it can be overbearing, maybe a little over the top, but it fits the movie so perfectly. Filmed in Chicago, Thief is shot in shadows and darkness, almost a modern film noir, with some really innovative camera shots. I'll always be in favor of on-location shooting, especially when it involves my hometown of Chicago, because it's hard to duplicate the feel of a city elsewhere, whether it be a studio or another city posing as Chicago.

Less reliant on action and shootouts than some of Mann's later movies, Thief nonetheless does not disappoint when it comes to gunplay. It's after a $4 million dollar heist that the situation goes all to hell and Frank realizes everyone he loves and everything he owns is at risk. Drawing on his prison experience, "you have to have the mindset that you're not scared of dying," Frank goes after Leo and his henchmen in one last desperate attempt. You can see the last 10 minutes here, but obviously MAJOR SPOILERS. It's a very stylish, moving ending to the movie with another great sample from Tangerine Dream playing, even if I would have altered the ending a bit.

So take what I say with a grain of salt, I'm a huge Michael Mann fan, but Thief is as good if not better than the director's most well-known and respected movies like Heat and Collateral. Featuring a great performance from James Caan as an all-around badass who won't be messed with by anyone and a worthy supporting cast, Thief is one you should not let slip by.

Thief <----- trailer (1981): *** 1/2 / ****