I'm going with the much cooler title used at the beginning of the movie, which is also the English title over in Europe. Anyway, TDW had been on the queue over at Netflix for awhile. For one reason or another, it finally got to the top and then into my mailbox. I wasn't doing anything else last night, so I popped it in.
There are spoilers below the cut.
Alright, the DVD I got is a woeful 130-minute version of the three episode, 4-hour miniseries. This bummed me out, because the DVD doesn't have the one scene I vividly remember from watching the miniseries over twenty years ago. Harley and Ray Carson are at the spot in the house where Kiki was killed, and Harley says something like, "this is where they did it," and, "they painted over the blood." Anyway, the cut-down version wasn't too bad. There are no gaping plot holes. But the movie moves right along, especially towards the end.
One thing that really jumps out is the production. And not just because it's a pretty typical, though subdued, Michael Mann production (the clothes, the sets, the lighting). But with the real-life footage and news reports, slow-mo scenes, and the freeze frames and transitions to new scenes, the movie's style reminded me of Cocaine Cowboys from sixteen years later.
The acting was pretty good all around. I liked Steven Bauer as Kiki. Unfortunately, he's gone after the first half hour or so. Same thing with the beautiful Elizabeth Peña as Kiki's wife, Mika. Craig T. Nelson is always good and didn't disappoint as Harley. I love Treat Williams as Ray Carson. It was nice to see Miguel Ferrer as a good guy for once. I have to give props to Raymond J. Barry, who plays DEA honcho Jack Lawn. With combed-back grey hair and bright blue eyes, he's very magnetic and had a lot of gravitas.
I love the scene when Harley and Ray are watching the dirty Mexicans fuck up an interrogation. Harley gets pissed off and Ray has to drag him to the men's room. Harley cools down, but he's losing hope. So Ray has to be strong and talk some sense back into Harley.
Another great scene is after Tony Rivas (Miguel's character) is kidnapped by Mexican police. Harley and Ray go the local police station and demand Tony's release. When the guy at the front desk bullshits them, Harley grabs him and Ray points a gun at his head, because they ARE NOT leaving without their friend. So Tony's brought out and he can't walk because he's been tortured, so Harley has to help him. And as he's helping Tony, Harley is looking at the dirty Mexican cops and calling each one a "son of a bitch."
One last scene I really like is when Jack Lawn is listening to the torture tape. One instance when Kiki shrieks, there is a very good reaction shot of Jack grimacing. And I like how they show the notes Jack is scribbling down. Like, "Kiki's staying strong and handling them." And then at the end, when a corrupt Mexican official comes in and invites Jack to dine with him at a restaurant only 25 kilometers outside the city, Jack declines saying he wouldn't go with the official 25 feet across the street.
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