Movie / Miami Vice

Ah, Miami. Where the drug deals are huge, the international traffickers are ruthless, the vice squad cops are young and handsome or beautiful, everyone has plenty of automatic weapons, pricey sports cars, private jets, powerful speed boats, fancy penthouses and mansions, swaying palm trees, beautiful water and sky, rhythmic trance music, and genuine style and mood.

The film runs 2 hours 28 minutes, but it could have been edited down to 90 minutes, since every scene lasts twice as long as necessary to tell the story. But that's not the point. It's the endless action montage, the dreamlike mood that was and is the essence of Miami Vice. Sexy young cops working under cover in extreme danger, reminiscent of James Bond.

This one is a Romeo and Juliet story. Two powerful families, the cops and the drug lords, are at war. But, in a violation of protocol on both sides, the lead undercover cop (Colin Farrell) and the #2 female drug lord (Li Gong, the aggressive girl in Crouching Tiger, now older) fall in love, leading to serious complications.

The plot's not complex, in fact there's not much there. The film's value lies in the editing, which creates a sense of endless action, disco rhythm, boats zooming, breezes blowing, style and grace. As a sign of how "cool" this movie is going to be, there are no opening credits of any kind, it just starts happening. Only at the end do we see any names.

Rated R. Strong language, graphic violence, and long (but semi boring) sex scenes.