Dick Tracy (Warren Beatty) is a tough no nonsense police detective who's the bane of the city's criminal underworld. Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice (Al Pacino) makes his moves to consolidate power and build a criminal empire, but Tracy will stop at nothing to bring him down.
Released in 1990 to mildly positive reviews and decent box office (though allegedly under performing depending on the reporting agency) Dick Tracy was often compared to the previous Summer's superhero blockbuster Batman. While there are certain superficial similarities to the Burton helmed production, the fact that the two films were in production roughly around the same time hints more at coincidence.
The movie spiritually speaking has much more in common with Brian de Palma's The Untouchables adaptation than 1989's Batman. From the straight arrow protagonist to the over the top villain played by an actor from The Godfather (Al Pacino being this movie Robert de Niro) the movie is clearly trying to ape that particular framework while filtering it through the lens of a comic book art style. The movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. From the make up, to the costumes, to the city itself, the movie takes a very stylized approach to its material with a color pallet inspired by the aesthetics of 1930s newspaper comic strips and a noticeable absence of earthy or industrial colors that give the sets a uniquely artificial look that's visual interesting. In many ways its usage of make up and set design is reminiscent of Robert Altman's usage when he made his adaptation of Popeye in 1980. But unfortunately the movie beneath its beautiful costumes, sets, and makeup is hollow and lacking in substance.
The biggest issue with Dick Tracy is that despite an over the top design, everything is played very flatly (with the exception of one or two characters) Dick Tracy is a standard no nonsense cop (sort of Elliot Ness run through a funhouse mirror of exaggeration of his "untouchable" moniker), he has a standard love interest and a standard kid sidekick and none of the main characters in this movie feel memorable or engaging. Al Pacino appears to be having fun at least as the villain Big Boy, but a little of him goes a long way and his performance loses its novelty quickly (the fact Pacino got an Oscar nomination for this performance feels almost like a joke), Madonna is decent playing an exaggerated femme fatale, Breathless Mahoney, but like all the other roles in the movie it's a flat role that's only barely elevated by its performance.
Dick Tracy isn't a bad movie and it clearly has ambition and craft at work, but it's also in the shadow of other comic book movies. It doesn't have the heart and character of something like Popeye, nor does it have the excess and camp appeal of something like Flash Gordon. The movie is almost worth watching for its sets and make up alone, but its such an inert and lifeless affair that I just can't recommend it.
Released in 1990 to mildly positive reviews and decent box office (though allegedly under performing depending on the reporting agency) Dick Tracy was often compared to the previous Summer's superhero blockbuster Batman. While there are certain superficial similarities to the Burton helmed production, the fact that the two films were in production roughly around the same time hints more at coincidence.
The movie spiritually speaking has much more in common with Brian de Palma's The Untouchables adaptation than 1989's Batman. From the straight arrow protagonist to the over the top villain played by an actor from The Godfather (Al Pacino being this movie Robert de Niro) the movie is clearly trying to ape that particular framework while filtering it through the lens of a comic book art style. The movie is absolutely gorgeous to look at. From the make up, to the costumes, to the city itself, the movie takes a very stylized approach to its material with a color pallet inspired by the aesthetics of 1930s newspaper comic strips and a noticeable absence of earthy or industrial colors that give the sets a uniquely artificial look that's visual interesting. In many ways its usage of make up and set design is reminiscent of Robert Altman's usage when he made his adaptation of Popeye in 1980. But unfortunately the movie beneath its beautiful costumes, sets, and makeup is hollow and lacking in substance.
The biggest issue with Dick Tracy is that despite an over the top design, everything is played very flatly (with the exception of one or two characters) Dick Tracy is a standard no nonsense cop (sort of Elliot Ness run through a funhouse mirror of exaggeration of his "untouchable" moniker), he has a standard love interest and a standard kid sidekick and none of the main characters in this movie feel memorable or engaging. Al Pacino appears to be having fun at least as the villain Big Boy, but a little of him goes a long way and his performance loses its novelty quickly (the fact Pacino got an Oscar nomination for this performance feels almost like a joke), Madonna is decent playing an exaggerated femme fatale, Breathless Mahoney, but like all the other roles in the movie it's a flat role that's only barely elevated by its performance.
Dick Tracy isn't a bad movie and it clearly has ambition and craft at work, but it's also in the shadow of other comic book movies. It doesn't have the heart and character of something like Popeye, nor does it have the excess and camp appeal of something like Flash Gordon. The movie is almost worth watching for its sets and make up alone, but its such an inert and lifeless affair that I just can't recommend it.