Michael Mann
Miami Vice

THE REVIEW

The triumph of the image: Mann takes the MV of the '80s, retains only the names and themes, and excludes brilliant dialogues, beaches always full of beautiful women, informers with quick wit, crocodiles, Don Johnson's unfiltered cigarettes, and many other things that certainly made it more televisual, glossy, and perhaps less real (and I adored Miami Vice 1985).

Here, instead, digital technology catapults you into the film, no titles, it starts off with a bang, deafening music, blinding lights, you find yourself in a nightclub with undercover Miami agents, everything is frenetic, in the confusion of bodies you glimpse the operation that Sonny and Rico must carry out, a scene of realistic masterpiece.
The plot continues with the solidity and linearity of an extended episode, where silences speak louder than dialogues. It is here that you must explore the hidden psychology of the characters; Mann lingers in Farrell's silences, making him implosive, unlike Don Johnson's Crockett, all charisma and vivacity. Or Gong Li, the cold wife of the drug lord, betrays her husband with Crockett and at the moment of the sex scene, a tear falls, revealing all her uncertainties. Foxx, as Tubbs, provides a strong performance, but is less present than Farrell, yet in the action scenes, he is undoubtedly the protagonist.
The other special agents are little more than extras, also because the absolute protagonist of this film is Michael Mann, who with his virtuosity creates indelible pages of visual (high definition makes it unique) and sound cinema (explosions sound like atomic bombs, bullets sound like cannon shots, the roar of engines passes by you). The splendid settings and the beautiful soundtrack are the icing on the cake.
Mann's dark night "lights up" in the final shootout and finds its peak for me when Isabella (Gong Li) understands the situation... my personal high point.