8. Miami Vice
Contrary to popular opinion, Manns 2006 actioner Miami Vice is not the disaster that so many peg it to be. Yes, the script is bogged down by one too many ancillary subplots, and yes, Mann too often mistakes muddled for understating. However, even with these flaws, this sleek update of the popular 1980s procedural - which Mann actually produced - remains a smooth, satisfyingly breezy effort. Stars Colin Farrell (Crockett) and Jamie Foxx (Tubbs) inherit their respective roles from Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas with ease, tweaking just enough of these familiar characters rhythms so that their turns are at once reminiscent of Johnson and Thomas beloved performances why also well-rounded enough to stand solidly on their own. Indeed, a great deal of the films suave charm comes from Manns adamant refusal to play the catch-the-reference game: there are few if any winks to the camera or in-jokes here, nothing that explicitly calls back to the original shows aesthetics. In playing things straight, yet still sticking by the series core principles, Mann manages to simultaneously pay tribute to the shows legacy while also managing to offer up a spry crime tale in its own right.