It's a good crime movie by itself, but the whole Miami Vice hype led me to believe I was in for a cheesy 80's throwback to ye olde times. It was anything but that. The tone was set when I saw that guy's arm being blown off with the sniper rifle. Totally not the Miami Vice we know.
Good movie anyway. But somebody needs to go back in time and tell Michael Mann to change the title to a generic crime movie title.
Having only seen clips of the TV show, which seemed very cheesy, I love the film. If Mann was trying to introduce the world to a new Miami Vice I think he did an awesome job. If he was trying to recreate it for the older audiences then he may have failed, but I'd watch this movie any day of the week.
shareI agree.
shareI can agree with that
shareI think it would have made even less without "Miami Vice" in the title, but a different title/characters might have saved it from the negative press. Miami Vice was considered all style, no substance as a show (I've never seen it, just repeating what I've heard), and I think a lot of people never gave the 2006 movie a chance as a result. It's more interesting and certainly more experimental than, say, Collateral, which is more conventionally satisfying but, oddly, I find it has less depth. Miami Vice has vision in spades, even if the characters don't connect to average people on an emotional level. It's hard to deny all of the research and authenticity. Looking at the movie again ten years later, it was way, way ahead of its time aesthetically and it's clear it was influential, even if nobody admits being a fan of this particular film. The style informed a whole generation of filmmakers on how to use digital to create uniquely beautiful images that don't happen with celluloid. It was a complete, matured esthetic looking maybe for a better story.
shareIt's been years since I watched the TV show, but I remember as a kid making sure I watched Miami Vice when it came on...because of how hard it was. I realize it wan't all like that, but there were episodes where Sonny was in too deep, behind enemy lines, rippin' filters off of marlboros. There were some pretty scummy bad guys, and sometimes they got away, and sometimes the good guys died. I am glad the movie focused on that aspect of the show and didn't go for the light-hearted stuff or try to mix them. It really would've been a disservice to have these cartel and white supremacist gangs killing folks...friends and LE, undercover cops in really deep and living on the edge and then turn around and tell a joke. That's just not Mann's style IMO.