Mann’s ‘ Tokyo Vice’ needs more ‘ Heat’

We’ll always welcome any new project from Michael Mann, the visionary filmmaker behind crime dramas “Heat,” “Manhunter” and “Thief.”

But his latest descent into the criminal underworld isn’t, well, Mann enough. HBO Max’s “Tokyo Vice” ( first three episodes now streaming; new episodes weekly on Thursdays) is based on journalist Jake Adelstein’s 2009 memoir and has no relation to Mann’s pastel- soaked cop show “Miami Vice,” which ran for five seasons on NBC in the 1980s.

Instead, the stylish yet sluggish new series ( ★★☆☆) follows a plucky expat named Jake ( Ansel Elgort) in 1990s Tokyo as he snags a job with one of Japan’s top newspapers. Fluent in Japanese and determined not to stick out as the uncouth American, Jake keeps his nose to the ground and immerses himself in the city’s culture.

But he soon discovers a seedy underbelly, crawling with corrupt cops and violent gangsters ( also known as yakuza), although his paper’s top brass would prefer he look the other way.

The first episode, which Mann directed, is the easy standout of the five made available for review, guiding you down Tokyo’s dark alleyways and into neon- drenched nightclubs and swank restaurants. Through Jake, we meet supporting players Hiroto ( Ken Watanabe), a grizzled detective who becomes Jake’s de facto father figure; Eimi ( Rinko Kikuchi), Jake’s prickly supervisor, who faces institutional sexism at the paper; and Sato ( Shô Kasamatsu), a disillusioned young yakuza questioning his chosen path.

As the action drags in subsequent episodes, this disparate trio always is engaging, despite having far less screen time than Jake and the mysterious Samantha ( Rachel Keller), another American working as a bar hostess who is caught in a love triangle with Jake and Sato.

Elgort and especially Keller are likable enough, acting as audience surrogates in an unfamiliar, at times dangerous place. But it’s impossible not to wonder why we’re spending the bulk of our time with these two characters, both of whom are saddled with clunky dialogue and cliched backstories ( estranged from their parents, running from trauma – you get the picture).

And judging by the recent successes of foreign- language thrillers “Money Heist,” “Lupin” and “Squid Game” on Netflix, as well as 2020’ s Oscar best- picture winner “Parasite,” it has been proven time and again that you don’t need white, English- speaking stars to draw wide viewership. With that in mind, the centering of Jake and Samantha’s storylines seems more archaic than genuinely arresting.

For all its visual pleasures, “Tokyo Vice” is guilty of sidelining its most fascinating characters. And with so many other streaming shows fighting for our attention, that’s a punishable offense.

PROVIDED BY JAMES LISLE/ HBO MAX Ansel Elgort stars in “Tokyo Vice.”