Miami Vice (2006, USA)

I’m rarely bored with Michael Mann’s films, even if I don’t particularly like them (Collateral is a good example). Heat has long been one of my favorite cops-and-robbers action films, and so though I don’t like either Colin Farrell or Jamie Foxx, I had some hope that Miami Vice would at least be fun. Wrong. It’s deadly boring, and the central characters are so flat that the potential chemistry of the central crew, one of the best aspects of Heat, is completely wasted here, despite a good supporting cast that includes Gong Li, Justin Theroux and Naomie Harris (Harris fares best, but gets blown up for her efforts). The one redeeming factor is the gorgeous photography, something that never disappoints in a Mann film, but this alone certainly can’t make up for an underdeveloped story, anemic characters, and an overall sense of pointlessness. Also, Farrell looks like a ratty 70’s pimp. Why?