Of Vice And Mann

The release of 'Miami Vice' this month sees director Michael Mann's career go full-circle. Originally an executive producer on the mid-eighties U.S. TV series which helped define the music and fashion of the period, he was responsible for introducing a fresh, cinematic approach to the small screen, its pastel backdrops and contemporary soundtrack becoming trademark features.

Originally played by Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, "Sonny" Crockett and "Rico" Tubbs were undercover cops working for the Miami Police Department, balancing their myriad personal problems with the highly dangerous task of infiltrating the city's dark criminal underworld.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx reprise the Crockett and Tubbs roles in Mann's updated big screen version. Gone is the duo's previously distinctive sartorial taste; pastel linen jackets, sleeves rolled up over T-shirts paired with loafers, no socks - though other key elements remain; the drugs, fast cars, luxurious boats and beautiful women.

The plot centres round the two detectives being pulled into investigate the slaughter of undercover federal agents and the murder of an informant friend's family; the brutal aftermath of a high-level leak. This leads them deep into a sophisticated network of narcotics traffickers, Crockett's relationship with a drug lord's wife serving only to complicate matters.

A notorious perfectionist, Mann's reputation as a director who meticulously crafts and researches his films was further cemented with the making of 'Vice'. "I wanted to break down the walls and do it without limitations, in terms of true life, true violence, true language, and real relationships." Indeed, he spent a lot of time with the actors in pre-production studying and working with undercover cops, developing realistic scenarios surrounding successful and unsuccessful drug deals. He also had Farrell and Foxx prepare for their roles alongside "heavy, heavy-duty undercover guys" from the ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives) and DEA (Drugs Enforcement Agency), while he and Farrell gained first hand experience of night-time smuggling, running a midnight cargo from the Gulf Stream into Miami.

The film's production has been dogged by negative Hollywood headlines, including reports of the budget bulging from $120 to $200 million dollars. This was partly the result of Universal granting Foxx's demands for an extra $10 million dollars due to his Oscar for 'Ray', but also because the original three-month shoot tripled in length. Filming mainly in the Caribbean and South Florida, and starting in June rather than March, caused them to lose a week to hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma. Gunshots outside the Dominican Republic set also meant a further delay, while tales of Farrell's incessant partying at Miami's hot-spots surfaced, the normally muscular star supposedly developing "man-boobs". Mann, however, has denied much of this tabloid buzz, blaming internet bloggers for "making up numbers" and labelling stories about Farrell as "untrue."

With the critically acclaimed director at the helm and its two stars billing the film as a potential summer blockbuster, expectations are high. However, early reports have suggested that 'Miami Vice' is merely a "good-looking, empty-shell of a movie", and one that, despite various editing attempts, supposedly fails to capture the flavour of the TV series or establish a new identity of its own. Opening on August 4th, we won't have to wait long to find out for ourselves.