‘Miami Vice’ packs heat and gritty realism

Michael Mann, the creator of the hit 1980s show “Miami Vice,” remakes the TV series as a darker, testosterone-riddled action-packed movie.

The Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs of old look like kids playing cops and robbers compared to the new Sonny (Colin Farrell) and Rico (Jamie Foxx) in 2006.

The bright flamingo-colored wardrobe and hip banter are gone. Darker colors and moody attitudes signal a change in the undercover agents’ fight against crime. They’ve changed because the times have. They’re tougher because the criminals have grown nastier, richer and more powerful.

Mann focuses on the similarities law officials and criminals have in common. Both are intelligent, cunning and driven.

Mann uses the similarities to blur the lines between the good guys and bad. For example, the outlaws in “Thief” and “Heat” have the audience rooting for them because they embody the American Dream: Work hard and save your money for retirement.

Even the unlikable ones, like Tom Cruise in “Collateral,” warrant a nod of approval for their incredible drive and never-give-up attitude. The director never makes it easy for the audience to decide which side to root for.

However, with “Miami Vice” there is no confusing the heroes from the enemy. Each is easy to spot. The problem is being able to tell who’s going to win in the end.

Sonny and Rico go undercover as drug runners for the lord of drug lords, Montoya. They go into business with his Othello-esque lackey, Yargo, and the scheming, Isabella.

In such company, Sonny and Rico are outgunned and outmanned. They are pawns in the ongoing power play between Yargo and Isabella.

Isabella is Mann’s first major femme fatale character played by Gong Li (“Memoirs of a Geisha”). As smart and deadly as the men, Isabella has an aura of mystery about her. She plays Montoya, Yargo and Sonny against each other. Her lack of allegiance to any side keeps the audience watching and waiting, unable to predict her next move.

The action frequently gets ahead of the audience. Subplots, like the one that opens the film, are not always resolved. And support character walk-on roles are so far apart — such as Sonny and Rico’s crew — it takes a moment to remember who they are.

Yet the loose ends and unmemorable characters fit in with the changing action. The gaps are like real life, where no one knows everything going on in any given situation.

Driving that thought home, Mann leaves the audience in the dark on some of the major story lines when the movie ends. It’s left up to the audience to decide what happens to the characters.

Shot with high-definition digital video, “Miami Vice” oozes a fleshly realism. The grainy night shots thrust viewers into the scene right next to Sonny and Rico. You not only see the sweat, you can feel it, too. As physically close as we get to them, however, there is never a time we know what they think or what makes them tick.

All that is known about them is what can be seen. They are workaholics. Sex is their only non-work activity. Both Farrell and Foxx show off their bodies and bedroom skills in the movie. Because the scenes lack any valuable connection to the story, they act more as commercial breaks.

“Miami Vice” is still entertaining, though. The credit goes to Mann. His use of high-def video, camera angles, close ups and lighting tells the story on equal footing with the actors. It’s worth the price of admission.