Miami Vice

Sonny Crocket (Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Fox) are two Miami police detectives who specialise in deep undercover work. After a fellow undercover cop's cover is blown, Crocket and Tubbs are drawn into the world of heavy narcotic transportation. Crocket further complicates matters by becoming emotionally involved with Chinese-Cuban middle woman Isabella (Li), who is married to the leader of the drug and arms cartel at the centre of their investigation. Miami Vice is the kind of film that doesn't suffer fools; right from its opening frames, you're struggling to play catch-up to its fast paced plot and slightly complex police-style jargon. But this is a Michael Mann film, and anyone who went in expecting Bad Boys (and there were some) naturally came out of their local multiplex disappointed. Simply put, Miami Vice is the most misunderstood film of the year and, quite frankly, also one of the best. This is a film firmly rooted in veracity; Mann assumes you know about these characters from the TV show, so doesn't waste time with character establishment. Instead he lets individual character traits unfold as the exposition moves along, through a series of tense and surprisingly tender scenes (i.e. when Crocket fastens Isabella's seatbelt). While much has been made of the lack of dialogue between the two leads - another point sorely missed by its critics - Crocket and Tubbs have worked together for ten years, and Mann's reasoning is that these guys already know what the other is thinking, and just get on with the job. Their relationship is based on trust; and Farrell and Foxx are a solid combination, with Foxx giving the more understated performance of the two and Farrell excelling in the film's quieter moments with Li - bringing suitable amounts of passion and heart to a tricky role, with a difficult balance. The action, though sporadic, feels incredibly visceral, with blood settling in the air like red dust after a kill-shot - and the final shoot-out is on a par with Heat, in terms of out-and-out carnage. While this is far from Mann's best film (although undoubtedly his most overtly commercial), it is still head and shoulders above most of the other crap passing as entertainment this year. A smart, gritty, beautifully-shot piece of filmmaking.