"Dick Tracy" (1990)

When militant rappers Public Enemy chanted "Don't Believe The Hype" a couple years ago, they weren't talking about the movie industry, but they might as well have been, especially when it comes to summer blockbusters. It's easy to fall victim to media frenzy and get suckered into watching an atrocious film by a clever ad campaign. "Dick Tracy," easily the most hyped film of the year so far, would seem a strong candidate for suspicion.

Disney, learning valuable lessons from Warner Brothers' marketing of "Batman" last year, started pushing their product last Christmas and has hardly let up since. But what is it about "Dick Tracy" that makes you want to see it? The presence of Warren Beatty? His name certainly didn't sell "Ishtar" three summers back. Madonna, in her return to the big screen? Anyone who sat through "Shanghai Surprise" and "Who's That Girl" has reason to beware of any film she toplines. The title character? Dick Tracy himself has not been hot for at least 40 years. Boil down the slick sell and all you have left is the film itself, meaning that it had better be pretty remarkable if it's going to survive the scrutiny of pitch-wary moviegoers.

Miracle of miracles, it is. More than remarkable, it's flatout stunning. The first time you see it -- and few will be able to resist the temptation of a second or third viewing -- you'll be wowed by the intricate and astonishing production design: No other movie ever made looks like this. From the opening shots that carry us from Tracy's apartment to the other side of town via a breaktaking rapid pan that cruises across a landscape part-real, part-painted, it's obvious that this is going to be a visual vacation.

But the design doesn't overwhelm the actors. Director Beatty knows how to bring out the brightest in his cast, and his ensemble, in turn, gives their all to the script, which is much snappier than you'd expect. The villains and near-villains get most of the good lines: slinky singer-seductress Breathless Mahoney (Madonna, whose sensuality and humor are perfect for the part), asked by Tracy (Beatty) if she's mourning her late sugar daddy, deadpans, "I'm wearing black underwear"; Breathless' new boss, the sub-intellectual crime kingpin Big Boy Caprice (Al Pacino, camping it up to the max), tells his minions to "dress like bankers, join the Rotary Club. If you're not of the people, you can't buy the people." Although his lines are not easily intelligible, Dustin Hoffman almost steals the picture as albino informant Mumbles, a sly variation on his "Rainman" performance.

They get fewer laughs, but the good guys aren't boring either. Glenne Headley puts a sassy, smart spin on the potentially goody-goody Tess Trueheart, and Charlie Korsmo, previously seen as Jessica Lange's youngest in "Men Don't Leave," is a delight as The Kid taken in by Tracy and Tess.

And Beatty the actor? He brings his customary charm to Tracy, making him a hero with real heart. As a director, he invests the film with as many emotional conflicts as physical. Underneath the special effects and creative coloring is a truly affecting story about people unable to choose between love and work, or between good and bad. What a rarity: a summer blockbuster set in a fantasy world, but addressing real-life concerns. Here's something worth hyping.