Feature for Miami Vice

Miami Vice: A big screen revival too far? By Simon Thompson

Every few years a TV show comes along that doesn't just pull in the ratings but it becomes a social and cultural phenomenon - 'Miami Vice' was one of those shows.

It took two virtually unknown actors and made them into cultural icons. Don Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas - or James "Sonny" Crockett and Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs as they became known to millions around the world - were at the centre of it all.

The show's concept was painfully simple. Crockett (Johnson) and Tubbs (Thomas) were two undercover cops in Miami. Each week they would infiltrate a drugs ring, bring down a criminal kingpin or break up some sort of cartel and yet they'd always find time to romance the ladies and live the lavish, neon-lit lifestyle that epitomised the decade. Wearing espadrilles, pastel toned suits and making calls on their brick-sized cellphones, the pair cleaned up Florida's east coast. until the next week of course.

With the blend of guns and girls, 'Miami Vice' was never meant to be highbrow entertainment. Even Lee Katkin, one of the series' directors, once stated: "The show is written for an MTV audience, which is more interested in images, emotions and energy than plot and character."

However, it didn't stop the show becoming an instant hit and Emmy Award nominee. Eventually, celebrities were literally begging to get a 'special guest star' credit. Musical legends Willie Nelson, Gene Simmons and Ted Nugent all appeared playing drug dealers, while Frank Zappa, Little Richard and Phil Collins also had bit parts.

Among the Hollywood stars who popped up over the years were Annette Bening, Bruce Willis, Viggo Mortensen, Ben Stiller, Chris Cooper, Wesley Snipes, Liam Neeson, Michael Richards, Chris Rock, Julia Roberts, Helena Bonham Carter, Melanie Griffith and Benicio Del Toro.

Like all good things, the show came to an end. In 1989, after five years on air, Miami was vice free and the show was over. Now, Michael Mann - generally considered to be "the brains" behind the original show - has resurrected the idea for the big screen, and is once again at the helm.

In 2006's 'Miami Vice' movie, the cocaine cowboys of the 80's are gone, but Miami's Casablanca allure hasn't faded. Now, 'Phonebooth's Colin Farrell is Crockett and Oscar winner Jamie Foxx is Tubbs.

The film begins as the handsome law enforcers learn that a high-level leak has led to the slaughter of undercover federal agents and the murder of an informant friend's family. Pulled into the case, the two detectives' investigation takes them straight to the doorstep of vicious killers from the Aryan Brotherhood and a sophisticated network of globalized traffickers protected by world-class security.

Urbane and dead smart, Tubbs lives with Bronx-born intel analyst Trudy - played by 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' star Naomie Harris - as their team works to infiltrate the group responsible for the deaths. Crockett is charismatic and flirtatious, until he encounters the beautiful financial criminal Isabella, played by 'Memoirs of a Geisha' actress Gong Li. Naturally, that means all kinds of trouble. After 17 years you'd have thought they'd have learnt that baddies and booty don't mix!

The question has to be asked, was it a good idea to bring the show back? Michael Mann seems to thinks so, although he won't take the blame/credit for it.

He said: "It was all Jamie's fault because he talked me into this. It all started back in 2002. But doing 'Miami Vice' in 2006 you're not going to have crocodiles or alligators, and you're not going to have sailboats. You're not going to have nostalgia." Foxx added: "I admit I asked Michael Mann very politely if he would let me be in the film, if he would give me a few lines or let me hang about on set. I loved watching the original, but this is different to the original series. Michael Mann strips it down and makes it sexy. "But not everybody is thinking about the television series because I don't think that people are actually remembering every single episode. That's why it's a different thing. This is just a hot concept, hot movie, and I don't think they're going to be comparing the two."

Meanwhile, co-star Farrell has his own take on the big screen re-invention of the franchise. He explained: "As I remember it, and a lot of people I know remember it, 'Miami Vice' only became camp in hindsight. At the time, it was a really cutting-edge show.

"The subject matter was really dark - drugs, prostitution, so on and so forth -- with Crockett's back story, with his two children and his wife. Some very reality-based situations were dealt with very honestly for the time, and this has just been elevated to today's modern age."

Another question that needs to be asked - and probably echoed around the offices of at least one Hollywood executive when the plan for a movie was hatched - is, does the planet still feel the love, or the need for 'Miami Vice' in 2006?

Even Farrell admits he is worried about how audiences will react. He recently said: "I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't nervous. A lot of people invested their energy and time in this movie, so you want people to see it. "I've had films before where people haven't gone to see them, and it hurts."

However, the film - which was released in the US on July 28 - has already had fans flocking to their local multiplex. In its opening weekend, the film captured the top spot at the box office, taking $25.2 million and knocking 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest' off the top spot. However, critics have given the film a mixed reaction. David Edelstein from New York magazine said: "I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. It's a sensational trip."

However, Washington Post journalist Stephen Hunter wrote: "The worst news about 'Miami Vice' is that Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, replacing Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas in the key roles, don't hold a candle, a flashlight, a freakin' match to the original guys." The film is not for everyone and is - just like the TV show - probably more likely to appeal to men than women, but it's great to look at, as stylish as the show and gives the viewer an interesting take on the original series. 'Miami Vice' justifies its own existence and proves to be a worthy revival.

However, a sequel - should they decide to make one - might be pushing it too far.