Tokyo Vice has largely been sold to the world as a Michael Mann joint, but the director of Heat and Manhunter was only behind the camera for the premiere. Where does that leave us now? In a surprisingly strong place. This episode does a lot to alleviate many of the concerns I had about Ansel Elgort as the show’s leading man, and thus about the show itself. (No, not all of the concerns, obviously, not by a long shot.)
For one thing, Elgort’s character Jake Adelstein spends a lot of the episode laughing, smiling, busting the balls of his coworkers, striking up a conversation with a yakuza soldier by comparing their sneakers, riding around on a bicycle like an overgrown kid. He just seems like a much livelier, more youthful character in this outing, and it makes the story that much more believable.
I reviewed the second episode of Tokyo Vice for Decider.
Tags: decider, reviews, tokyo vice, TV, TV reviews