Mimi Leder and Janusz Kamiński were attached before Crowe’s interest brought Mann to the project; Spike Lee, Scorsese, and Spielberg were also approached. — Bill Simmons
Crowe would make a different but exciting Vincent, while Sandler would make the movie funnier but might prevent viewers from accepting Max. — Bill Simmons
The opening cab ride combines Groove Armada, an implausibly empty 105, chemistry, and a rare narcotic feeling of effortless Los Angeles motion. — Bill Simmons
The corpse falling onto the cab is a terrifying first-viewing shock, followed by Cruise’s calm calculation, Max’s panic, and the darkly comic distinction that the fall killed him. — Bill Simmons
Vincent’s rapid two-chest-one-head recovery of his briefcase establishes his practiced violence. — Bill Simmons
Daniel’s Miles Davis story lets Max briefly forget his peril before Vincent kills Daniel, with Barry Shabaka Henley’s expression selling the reversal. — Bill Simmons
Bardem controls a tiny role as Felix, while Max implausibly but compellingly learns to impersonate Vincent under pressure. — Bill Simmons
The Fever sequence uses hundreds of repeating extras, physical choreography, and Ruffalo’s abrupt death to produce the clear final choice. — Bill Simmons
Annie’s dark office pursuit and the subway death use darkness and sound to complete Mann’s preferred confrontation between paired professionals. — Bill Simmons
A future Sonny and Isabella reunion is imagined, with a return within a year or a birthday visit suggested. — Bill Simmons
Interagency task forces are viewed as predictably unsuccessful in movies. — Bill Simmons
The final shootout seems as though it should kill more good guys; none die, despite earlier destructive bullets. — Bill Simmons
Leaving Trudy in the safe house may have nearly killed her and could cause a later breakup. — Bill Simmons
A ten-episode, $200 million Netflix series by Michael Mann is proposed to bridge television and film, although Sicario and Narcos occupy similar ground. — Bill Simmons
A reportedly planned conventional NBC version disappoints the speakers. — Bill Simmons
Mann returning with a Blackhat series instead is a joke. — Bill Simmons
