Miami Vice Reviews

I remember, before this flick came out, there was a huge buzz about it. Honestly, I wasn't sure about the whole thing because I thought it was a timely show which really fitted the 80's and I wasn't sure if it would be really interesting for this new generation. Anyway, eventually, it was a flop, especially for Colin Farrel who back then was linked to some pretty impressive projects which all turned out to be disappointing (see also 'Alexander'). Still, it wasn't a really awful flick and there were loads of things to enjoy here. First of all, it is directed by Michael Mann and the whole thing just looked terrific. Furthermore, there was a pretty cool cast (Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrel, Gong Li) and they all did a decent job. It is a real shame that such a great actress like Gong Li would make her English debut in such an underwhelming flick. Eventually, the main issue here was above all with the story. Indeed, the whole thing was just so pedestrian and generic. It left me the feeling that the makers were already satisfied since the movie looked terrific so why should they bother looking for an interesting story? To conclude, it is indeed a disappointing movie, but I still think it is worth a look though, especially if you are interested in Michael Mann's work.

I had been eagerly anticipating the release of this film ever since I discovered that it was another action/thriller from director Michael Mann. Some of Mann's previous films, like Collateral and Heat, are in my opinion arguably among the best films ever made. But when I finally saw Miami Vice I was drastically disappointed. It is a long, drawn out and an incredibly boring film that I wish had never come to fruition.

Miami Vice is an update of the old TV show of the same name; this hard to understand film is basically about two cops whose professional and personal lives become dangerously intertwined. Then there's some convoluted mumbo jumbo about drug dealing with a bunch of unnecessary red herrings in addition to a bunch of horrible sub-plots just to stretch out the running time. That's pretty much all I got of it because not much other exposition is revealed.

The plot is about as weak and non-existent as my enjoyment of this film. The film is structured very unevenly, performances are mediocre, and the action was not at all exciting. I mean, I expected the action to be good (this is the director of Heat we're talking about here) but it's bleak, uninspired and just plain monotonous.

Miami Vice is also a crime film, and hence it is also very hard to follow. The poorly written screenplay included dialogue that is hard to understand and impossible to listen to. It seems that the dialogue is played so softly compared to everything else, so a scene heavy in dialogue did nothing for the film. It didn't make a lick of sense, and I couldn't figure out what the hell was going on.

Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx both deliver very poor performance here, which is a real shame because they've both been in some fantastic movies (Foxx was in Collateral, the film Mann directed prior to this mess). The film is also far too long, with my interest disappearing after the first few minutes!

Miami Vice is pointless, worthless and boring. It contains bad casting, bad editing, bad filming, bad sound, bland cinematography and bad directing. Heck, even the sex scenes were boring! It took me countless sittings to sit through this boring film. On incalculable occasions I started watching the film but had to turn it off only to begin watching it again another day. If only this torturous pile of rubbish remained on paper. One of the worst films of '06. Avoid.

The remake was a little suspect, but Michael Mann's transition of his famed television crime drama to the big screen was a big success largely in part to his gritty camera angles and action sequences reminiscent of Heat. Although slow at some parts, the focus on the characters love lives really drew you into what the television show was all about. Colin Farrell and Jamie Fox were a dynamic duo of sorts and really captured the roles.