Rating of
2.5/4
Lacks just about everything the TV series had
The M.O.W. - wrote on 08/03/08
Based upon the one of the most influential US television shows of all time that brought us brightly colored pastel suits, New Wave music and 1980's icon Don Johnson. However, fans of the series will see a darker, less influential movie that doesn't come close to the original.
Miami-Date Police Detectives "James 'Sonny' Crockett" (Colin Farrell) and "Ricardo 'Rico' Tubbs" (Jamie Foxx) have lost a former informant (John Hawks), when he commits suicide right in front of him after learning that his wife was killed by a necklace implanted with C-4 by a Columbian cartel that discovered that he was working for the FBI.
The two then join the investigation, and go to Columbia undercover looking for the souped-up boats delivering the narcotics. They then go after the cartel itself, focusing on its North American contact, "Jose Yero" (John Ortiz).
The two then meet the cartel's leader (Luis Tosar), and slowly learn that they are bringing the drugs into the US with the help of some Neo-Nazis.
Now, the two police detectives have to bring down the organization, and take the drugs into custody before they are discovered.
Let me say first, if you were around during the TV show's original run on the National Broadcasting Company (NBC) from 1984 thru 1989, you will be highly disappointed with this movie. This retelling is up-to-date and lacks the music, sense of fashion and just about everything else the classic crime drama had.
Instead of the flash the TV series had, this retelling is much darker. "Sonny" and "Tubbs" aren't really dressed up in this version, and don't have the fashion sense the characters had in the original TV series.
For about the first half of the movie, I felt little to no chemistry between Farrell and Foxx. It wasn't until the second half of the movie that the chemistry between any of the main players until the path to the climax became clearer.
The main problem of the movie is the script. It's pretty weak. You also would expect more gun play and all around action. But it's not here until the climax of the movie.
In the original TV series, Johnson and Phillip Michael Thomas had great on-screen chemistry and presence. Neither Foxx or Farrell have this, and it shows -- especially in the first half of the movie.
The love story subplot between "Crockett" and the cartel's financial advisor, "Isabella" (Long Li) was horribly handled in my opinion. I felt no chemistry between Farrell and Li, however, during their love scenes, which appeared to be a little short to me, there was some heat.
One thing that the TV series was known for, other than the fashion, was the music. Except for a cover of a song that appeared in the first episode of the TV show, this soundtrack is forgettable. The TV show was a way for artists to showcase their music, and were handled in a wonderful way. However, the music here was basically background noise, and didn't help enhance the story like the producers of the TV show was able to do.
Just like other big screen remakes of classic television shows, this is just a poor attempt at not only trying to bring the source material's magic to the silver screen, it's an all around poor attempt at rewriting what the fans of the classic TV show love.
Catch this one on television, or rent this if the first few picks are unavailable. I would not put this one on your Must See list.
