We don’t see Crockett and Tubbs in the immersive, neon-soaked HBO Max series “Tokyo Vice,” but the pilot episode is directed by the great Michael Mann, who created “Miami Vice” and has helmed such classic thrillers as “Thief,” “Collateral” and “Heat.” It’s one of the best hours of television so far this year—and the good news is “Tokyo Vice” retains that high level of quality, at least through the five episodes of the series made available for review.
With Ansel Elgort delivering a performance that ranks with “Baby Driver” as his career best, playing an American investigative journalist who takes a deep and dangerous dive into the world of the Yakuza organized crime syndicate, and a brilliant supporting cast including the legendary Ken Watanabe, Rinko Kikuchi, Sho Kasamatsu and Rachel Keller, “Tokyo Vice” is an electric and pulse-pounding series. Each taut, kinetic, beautifully photographed episode is filled with indelible images and scenes from the Tokyo of the late 1990s and early 2000s, when various factions of the Japanese mob operated with near impunity from law enforcement, raking in protection fees from small businesses, running nightclubs, loan sharking and even carrying out executions without fear of exposure from the media or criminal prosecution.
