MovieChat Forums > Miami Vice (2006) Discussion > What the hell was Mann smoking when he m...

What the hell was Mann smoking when he made this?

posted 8 years ago by BanzaiTron
6 replies | jump to latest

Seriously, as a fan of his better works, I really perplexes me when he makes films like this and Blackhat.

It had nothing to with or even manage to capture the spirit of the original show.

This will be the only comment or reply you'll get. Like I give a sh!t about YOUR interwebz opinion.

[–] catch_the_spindrift 8 years ago

It had nothing to (do) with or even manage to capture the spirit of the original show.

The plot was taken directly from an episode in season one (Smuggler's Blues). Not only that, there were scenes that were remade, shot for shot, as well as exact dialogue taken from numerous episodes from the series, including (but not limited to):

Brother's Keeper
Hearts of Darkness
Calderone's Return Part II
The Prodigal Son
One Way Ticket
Streetwise
Freefall

Other than the "look" (pastels, flamingos and pet alligators) and the lack of explicit comic relief, I honestly cannot see how someone can say the movie has "nothing to do with" the series.

Life redirected in ways unexpected, Sometimes the odd number wins

[–] moviemasochism 8 years ago

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[–] TVippy 8 years ago

This is exactly what he said. This movie has nothing to do with the "SPIRIT OF THE SERIES". It has a completely different tone.
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OCD predator: www.goo.gl/0avZjB

[–] catch_the_spindrift 8 years ago

As Michael Mann said in his commentary, when he was speaking about "In The Air Tonight":

"...it brings back, so strongly, the [series] pilot (‘Brother’s Keeper’), so then you’re dealing with memory, cultural memory of the show as memory exists in the audience and the memory of the show in the minds of audiences is very different for different people. People remember the show differently. They liked different things about it. Some folks liked the pastels and the flamingos. Other folks liked the writing and the power of the stories in the first couple of years. Other folks may have been younger when they saw it. They may have been ten, eleven, twelve and they just kinda liked groovin’ on a style for five years. So, the motion picture, I knew was going to be delivered into an audience that had a complex and divergent set of attitudes about it. So the advantage of it, in a way, is that the brand name ‘Miami Vice’ is known. The disadvantage is that it means many different things to many different people."

So, when you say "the spirit of the show", you are speaking from YOUR point of view. I didn't watch the show for flamingos and pastels. That stuff was simply eye candy. The things that stuck with me were the storylines and the feeling of futility in the work that Crockett and Tubbs were doing. This is quite evident in the movie, just as it was in the series.

I hope this helps you understand where I am coming from.

Life redirected in ways unexpected, Sometimes the odd number wins

[–] TVippy 8 years ago

OK, thanks for the quote.

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OCD predator: www.goo.gl/0avZjB

[–] konover 8 years ago

I've read some interesting thoughts here.

For me, bottom line, it fails to entertain consistently. Some good to great scenes, but the pace is very uneven.

I've tried watching it quite a few times and find it challenging to get through (and I do enjoy long movies), but Miami Vice the movie gets boring at times.