Barry Shabaka Henley for instance didn't delivery his lines badly at all, but I can't really understand why he was cast as Castillo. In any case, to my surprise, I really warmed up to this version of Castillo.
He was the best recasting of the movie, imo. Out of all the characters, I have to think that trying to replace Olmos had to be the most daunting role to fill, even more than Rico or Sonny. And I thought Henley really captured the essence even while having a completely different physical presence.
and that's partially due to the lack of a Jan Hammer score-- or any solid score at all --
Yeah, the score was the biggest missing piece in the movie for me. But it's not like they could have used Hammer now, and I have no idea what a modern equivalent would be. I kept waiting for a modern version of Sonny's theme to kick in, and I couldn't stop wondering how they were going to try to pull that off. Maybe luckily, they ended up not trying.
Miami Vice is a movie I liked okay the first time I watched it, but it actually grows on me more and more each time I rewatch it. Maybe because I know going in it's not going to be more than it is, so there's no disappointment in reviewings. Which is the opposite to Heat, which I like less each time (other than a few isolated moments) and think is overrated to hell.