Outstanding Sets And Visuals Are The Real Heroes of Dick Tracy

In the wake of 1989's Batman becoming such a massive box office success, Hollywood suddenly turned to film adaptations of comic books (though technically Dick Tracy was originally a comic strip) in hopes of replicating the box office success of that Tim Burton directed feature. One of the first post-Batman comic book movies was Dick Tracy, which had actually already been greenlit by Disney a year prior to Batman being released. Starring and directed by Warren Beatty, the project carried a $47 million budget and, despite becoming only the sixth film released by Disney at the time to score over $100 million domestically, ended up performing below Disney's box office expectations.

Dick Tracy would not go on to spawn the multitude of sequels and merchandise that the 1989 Tim Burton Batman movie would, but on balance, I'd say Dick Tracy is the superior feature of the two, even if it is the kind of motion picture that's better in terms of individual elements than as a whole. The character of Dick Tracy is a private eye who hunts down any and all nearby evil forces which mostly consist of gangsters. He's always trying to bring in secret gangster Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino in an Oscar-nominated turn) to justice to no avail and he's struggling in making his relationship with his long-time girlfriend work. Still, Dick Tracy is no quitter and with new sidekick The Kid (Charlie Korsmo) in tow, he's gonna take down the wicked Caprice and restore law & order to this city.

Dick Tracy and his various friends & foes occupy a city brought to life through a visual sensibility that's absolutely sublime.  For starters, there's a whole horde of exceptionally detailed sets that feel very much like they're real locations from the 1930's. To boot, the sets are adorned in some gorgeous colors that just make these environments pop. While so many comic book adaptations favor a gloomy visual aesthetic, Dick Tracy dives in headfirst into a color palette that favors painting everything from costumes to cars to even the booths at a diner joint in the brightest colors imaginable. This whole movie is eye candy at its finest and to boot, all of these visual choices are filmed through the eyes of cinematographer Vittorio Storaro, who does his usual top-of-the-line work here. 

Storaro is one of many examples of Dick Tracy luring in as many big name pieces of talent as possible, likely the result of Warren Beatty's massive level of influence in the film industry (that would also explain how he was able to get so many big people to cameo in his 2016 movie Rules Don't Apply). The emphasis on drawing in famous artists at every opportunity means the one and only Stephen Sondheim gets to pen a couple of lovely tunes for the similarly iconic Madonna (who plays femme fatale Breathless Mahoney) to belt out. Any movie that can make time for some stellar Sondheim showtunes earns some bonus points in my book! 

The omnipresence of famous names extends to the cast, which is so packed with legendary performers that the likes of James Caan and Dustin Hoffman show up in brief cameos! Among the numerous stars in the cast is Al Pacino, doing the kind of hammy antagonist performance that he's famous for. Among his many turns in this broad archetype, his Big Boy Caprice performance isn't the most memorable or special, but he does provide the kind of deliciously over-the-top line readings that only Al Pacino could do so well. Warren Beatty fares similarly as Dick Tracy in that his work here isn't heavily distinctive but he's still serviceable enough as a lead character, though, on a happier note, Madonna is actually extremely good as Breathless Mahoney.

There's a lot to like in Dick Tracy, but it's also got its fair share of problems that keep it from fulfilling its full potential. Most notable among these flaws is the fact that none of Dick Tracy's personal relationships ever feel worth getting dramatically invested in, his romantic woes just come and go on a whim while The Kid is such a generic kid sidekick stereotype that the father/son dynamic that blossoms between Dick Tracy and The Kid feels extraneous rather than emotionally satisfying. The script struggles with making the character drama of Dick Tracy feel even slightly consequential, which hinders the movie as a whole, but at least those outstanding visuals pick up the slack big time.