‘Miami’s’ chief vice: the script

In the original television version of “Miami Vice,” Johnson’s surly Sonny Crockett was a pastel-favoring fashion plate, always wearing T-shirts and beltless linen pants (often white) that rarely got dirty (his hair was just as unlikely to be mussed). Farrell just looks worried much of the time. His greasy-looking long hair is no more attractive than Tom Hanks’ “do” in “The Da Vinci Code.”

Thomas’ Ricardo (Rico) Tubbs, whose flashiness was mostly restricted to eye-popping ties, played straight man much of the time, though he could be unpredictable, especially if he had a gun in his hand. Foxx never gets enough screen time to make Rico count. When he pledges his complete trust in Sonny, the commitment seems to come out of nowhere.

Also missing is the original show’s bizarre use of pop songs. Talking Heads’  “Heaven” was once used to accompany a Mafia-style massacre of drug pirates. Mann would go on to play with similar juxtapositions in his 1986 film, “Manhunter,” which became famous for its climactic use of Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” Nothing here has a similar resonance, though Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” works well enough as the end-credits music.

Unlike the new movie, the 1980s show toyed with politics, referring to then-President Reagan and leftist guerrillas and South American quagmires and dictatorships. It made room for Tommy Chong, Richard Belzer, Bob Balaban, Penn Gillette and others who rarely appeared on prime-time television at the time. The new “Miami Vice” utterly wastes “guest stars” like Justin Theroux, whose “Six Feet Under” fans will be disappointed by his tiny role.

The cheesecake factor was also a major part of the original’s appeal, although it was usually restricted to the opening credits and establishing shots. In the new big-screen version, the sunny beaches and skimpy bathing suits are mostly gone, and they’re not replaced by anything. In many ways, this is just an overgrown, overlong B-movie about undercover cops who take on too many challenges.

Whenever Mann fails on this scale, his fans claim a victory for style over substance. But he didn’t need that kind of apology when he made “Collateral” (which gave Foxx his breakout role) or “The Insider,” which earned Mann a well-deserved 1999 Oscar nomination for best director.

His earlier career was also more script-driven. Five years before “The Silence of the Lambs” was released, he made the first (and belatedly acclaimed) Hannibal Lecter movie, “Manhunter.” And before “Miami Vice” arrived in 1984, he’d already established himself with “Thief” and the prize-winning TV movie “The Jericho Mile” — as well as a few episodes of “Starsky and Hutch” that no doubt influenced “Miami Vice.”

Mann did direct one happier translation of a small-screen concept to the big screen. “Heat,” perhaps his best movie, is a remake of  “L.A. Takedown,” a failed pilot.

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