What’s in a name? That which we call a Michael Mann-fronted crime drama series by any other branding would go just as hard.
The title of his latest small-screen enterprise Tokyo Vice (the noted film-maker directed the pilot and served as executive producer on the rest of the HBO Max project) implies some link to his Miami Vice, either the 80s-zeitgeist TV show he produced or the hyper-formalist film remake he directed in 2006. But there’s little trace of the cocaine-cool atmosphere that defined the former or the polarizing digital video textures that defined the latter, the later episodes (critics were shown five of eight in advance) lacking the visual distinction that sets the first apart from the glut of streaming content.
