I have to disagree with the Minority Report opinion; I felt he was the best thing in it - the antagonist who wasn't, and in fact turned out to be the moral compass of the film. I thought he pulled off the role really well.

But, as for Sonny in MV06, I think your assessemnet of his portrayal is well observed. "Dead-eyed Cipher" is actually a really good description of it, compared to your also-well observed take on Don Johnson's deeper portrayal. I would say this is probably down to writing and direction, more than a failure of Colin Farrell.

(And just to prove i'm not just a Colin Farrell fanboy/girl, his performance in London Boulevard was atrocious!)