User reviews

Due to Michael Mann's track record it was hard to go into this movie without very high expectations. After all, we are talking about the creator of arguably the greatest crime drama/thriller ever made with "Heat", as well as the highly entertaining "Collateral". But "Miami Vice" fails to live up to Mann's past success in the crime genre.

The plot is completely ordinary and doesn't offer up any unexpected twists and turns along the way. Because of this, the movie lacks intensity through much of the first and second acts, when everything that's happening is completely predictable.

However, pedestrian plot aside, the biggest disappointment was the manner in which the characters were developed. Both "Collateral" and "Heat" were notable for the way in which they delved deep into the psyche of the central characters, providing compelling personal drama to go along with the heists, hits and gunplay. But in "Miami Vice", we never really get to know the characters or their motivations beyond the surface level. And to make matters worse, Foxx and Farrell never develop the kind of rapport that's necessary to make a movie like this work on a high level. Compare Foxx and Farrell to Johnson and Thomas, or Gibson and Glover, and you'll see what I mean. Even though the "Miami Vice" movie aspires to be darker and grittier than "Lethal Weapon", which it is, it fails to be as dramatic because we never really come to care about the characters all that much. While there was clearly a conscious decision to downplay the "buddy" elements of the movie, the result is that Crockett and Tubbs seem so disconnected from each other on a personal level that it's hard to buy that they would die for each other, which we are expected to believe. The only relationship that is at all convincing or fleshed out is between Crockett and Isabella. The rest seem decidedly distant and undercooked.

What saves the film from being a bust is the visual splendor and great action sets. Mann once again proves that when it comes to creating a gritty atmosphere and staging shootouts, he's among the best in the business. When it comes to style, visuals, and atmosphere, "Miami Vice" is top notch.

In the end perhaps what hurt this movie most was studio deadlines and delays while shooting. It's been widely reported that Michael Mann had to feverishly edit this film just to get it into theaters on time, and in many ways that shows. There are multiple loose ends that are never tied up or explained, and several plot threads seem underdeveloped. I'm sure some day we will see a director's cut which approaches the 3 hour mark just like "Heat", and perhaps that version will overcome of the issues involving character development and plot holes in the theatrical version. Until then, "Miami Vice" is a movie that, while far from being a total failure, is none-the-less disappointing in that it had the potential to be a much more complete film than it is.

I've owned this movie for so long and I haven't watched it for almost 11 years, as my DVD's are in boxes in the basement. I'm glad I went to dig it out. It was very nostalgic and dreamy, just as I remember. The visuals are amazing, and the music is really good.

The first review I read is saying that Li Gong's character is married. To that person, I say, go back and watch the movie, genius. They are NOT MARRIED.

The younger people think it's boring because they have an attention span of a mosquito and if it's not full of bright and shiny things, nudity, and bad CGI, they won't like it,

The older people think it's not 'hip' and 'stylish' like the TV series. To those people, I say, cool story, the cold war was over a long time ago.

For everyone else that understands this movie, cheers!

Nothing needs to be said about it. Mann delivers a good movie. Nothing more, nothing less.

Not gonna get too much into it, will just say that it was pretty good, though with a little work to the script (dialogue, yes, but also how it evoked Crockett's and Tubbs's lives and identities outside of their lives/identities undercover), it could have neared excellent.

Visually, it was beautiful, though this should come as no surprise given who directed it. I was also satisfied stylistically; an updated remake, yes, but for the most part it held true (to the original series) in terms of pattern and theme (i.e., cars, boats, guns, clothes, clubs).

The acting was, given the limitations of a script that didn't really demand all too much of players, pretty good.

The script was, as I wrote above, adequate, but not something I would lavish with any significant praise. There were two scenes where the dialogue ventured well into the territory of trite, but only two scenes, and, more problematically, I wanted to be made more aware of the lines that were being blurred (by their going deep, deep undercover).

On the whole, though, this was good entertainment. The music was good, the action sequences were well-wrought, the tension was kept in-line with a narrative arc that did basically had no missteps. And like I said, it's a beautiful movie.

When I first commented on this movie, I was furious. First, I couldn't tell why this was being adapted into a movie from the 80's TV show, but with that aside, secondly, I couldn't figure out how I felt about Colin Farrell (with his gruff voice throughout the whole movie trying to replace Don Johnson as Crockett) and Jamie Foxx playing Tubbs (especially because I always loved Foxx's more comedic acting over his serious roles). I saw it in the theater the first time around, and everything just felt completely off-putting for me, even little things like not including the trademark theme song from the TV show to hype up the movie.

So I lost that initial impression altogether with a second viewing. I forgot that they never used the original theme music. I overlooked Farrell's acting like Don Johnson. And I had time (and subtitles for most of the overly specific commands and subtle name changes that the characters used throughout the film) to sit back and figure everything out without being uncomfortably squirming around in a theater chair to view it. Although I felt that some music changes would've gotten this film a higher score with my taste in soundtracks (or maybe a loss of the random sex scenes between the two vice partners and the included music in those changed around), ultimately the DVD proved a lot of my primary opinion were false.

The camera-work was awesome (each scene being shot with a photograph included in place of a traditional storyboard layout). Time was put into the detail-oriented script almost to the point of confusion, for the audience at points, but in the long-run, the totally expanding life of a vice agent and the takeovers that are possible in the real world might be this sky-bound. Michael Mann deserves a lot of the credit for the entire film for its look and continuous feel throughout; this adaptation definitely could not have been made as complete without him as the director. And his tests for simple things (such as .50 caliber gun impact tests on a car) really show through in the final draft of the film.

All in all, the film deserves at least 7 stars as its rating. I don't know about seeing it again and again (mostly due to its heady-script and elongated duration of the film), but there are moments of the film that have you laughing to yourself abut how this drug-trade stuff goes on within vice squads. Very informative, very stylish and functional camera-work, and very worth seeing.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Mann, Collateral and Heat are brilliant and this unfortunately doesn't live up to those two. Having said that it's a tense and scarily realistic film. I mean, there's no way cop life is like how it's portrayed in films like Bad Boys and the Rush Hour series.

Foxx and Farrell are solid as the focused partners, although it would have better to see more interaction between the two, they barely say two words to each other the whole film. The acting overall is very good, with Gong Li and Naomie Harris being the stand-outs.

There's no doubt the main feature of Mann's movies is his visual style. The night time atmosphere of Collateral is brilliant and he makes no exception here, providing plenty of great cityscapes and night shots. The soundtrack is also brilliant and bonds with the movie well, the highlight being the excellent "Auto Rock" by Mogwai thumping in the emotional finale.

I think the storyline is a weak point in Miami Vice and could have been stronger. I didn't have too much of an idea of what was going on half the time, but this again is part of the realistic cop scenario and avoids having an elaborate plot. I like the opening sequence when you're thrown straight into a heavy-hitting club scene, not sure whats happening and given no clues.

I admit Mann's thriller will not be for everyone and like most of his films, it may take multiple viewings to take everything in. It is clear though if you are looking for a non-stop action movie definitely avoid this. However, if you want a grown-up, intelligent, realistic thriller I would be happy to recommend it.

This is a story about being undercover, and what happens when you go deep undercover.Particularly if you're doing an operation in a foreign country, where your badge doesn't count and where you can't have SWAT team surveillance you, and people are not in contact, you really are out on the edge. It's the allure of doing that undercover work and what happens to you when you're deep in that role of that fabricated identity. These roles protagonists(Colin Farrell,Jamie Foxx as Sonny Crockett and Tubbs) are filled by real deal. This is a cool film directed by Michael Mann. He tells that his ambitions with a picture like that was to really go exploring into some of diverse areas. It's shot in location Scout, South America. One of the exciting things about Michael Mann is the choosing real location all the time. We're dealing with environment that can often surprise us. Whether it's the light, whether it's dramatic moment with the sky, or some interior or some sort of background action that would not have happened in a controlled backlog situation. Michael gets this slickness, finding places, that, you know , that aren't even on the map.He makes as real as he possibly can. He's all about, why fake it, when you can do it for real? . The cameraman Dion Beebe gets a maximum chromatic saturation. The shooting in these places like Ciudad del Este is incredibly stimulating and exciting.It's a Tri-border area where Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina meet. It's such a unique part of the world. This town have people who are from Middle East, Lebanese and Syrians, a lot of ethnic Chinese and the country speaks Guarani, which is the indigenous language. These people were extras and director got to be pretty determined to get a crew to these places. Also was shot a lot of stuff in the Dominican Republic and in some areas, it took a lot of social engineering to be able to bring a film company in and shoot responsibly and shoot safely. The main shooting is Miami, it's kind of globalized city with a huge population and a lot of money, and lot of people from Haiti, Brazil, Venezuela Columbia. In the movie Miami seems to have elevated itself, up into the most sensual which is up into the air.It's reflected the storm systems, the clouds, the dramatic weather and nature in a very, almost tactile way. Filming in really swank, fantastic places, and the girls are still beautiful(Gong Li, Naomie Harris,Elizabeth Rodriguez) and the cars are still fast but doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the underbelly of Miami.The city is photographed with alluring, it's very attractive, very engaging , sensual and also very dangerous and things that we can see around the images; furthermore an atmospheric music score by John Murphy. The motion picture is well realized by the successful director Michael Mann.

A die-hard Michael Mann fan, I deeply respect all of his prior work and hold "Thief" and "Heat" in the highest regard. I essentially went into the theater to watch Miami Vice expecting a reaction similar to when I viewed "Ali" and "Collateral" on the big screen. I expected to see the big Mann pull off what I didn't think anyone else could pull off... restructuring the perception of a specific actor and producing an engaging and resonating plot in an otherwise skeptical script idea. In "Ali" I didn't believe Will Smith was the right choice but he worked and Jamie Foxx as Bundini was amazing. In hindsight I understood why he focused solely on the height of Ali's career. When "Collateral" was announced, I had severe doubts as to the believability of the plot, the choice of Tom Cruise as a villain and the decision to shoot on High Definition video. I've watched those two movies several times over and love them both.

So it was with Miami Vice that I didn't think Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as a team were right for the roles. I also believed that the idea of recreating Miami Vice was a pure marketing scheme. I gave Michael Mann the benefit of the doubt considering he directed the TV series that I barely remember since I was only an adolescent. My only knowledge of Colin Farrell was that he was an Irish dude in "Minority Report". I was afraid Jamie Foxx would be a continuation of his "Collateral" "Max" character after he finds his balls.

Sure enough, for the first time, Michael Mann didn't sidestep my opinions. From the first scene in the nightclub, Jamie Foxx has taken over the actions of Tom Cruise. Break a bodyguard, step on him and look up past the camera. That was a great maneuver in Collateral, now I think it's cheese. So he's a tough dude. Colin Farrell is a charmer we learn immediately. So we'll expect sex scenes. Yeah. Too bad the characters are in the same camera shot but miles apart chemistry wise. It's just emotionally cold sex. There's no sense of a symbiotic relationship between Farrell and Foxx either. Both of them just seem to immediately know how to get things done and don't really do anything together that one couldn't do alone or with a randomly assigned partner. Their characters dominate every scene of possible tension and diffuse it immediately. Which is what I consider to be the film's second greatest weakness, the lack of tension and drama. We have to watch talk scenes. Characters talk to characters. Deceive characters by talking. Talk about deceiving by talking. Then fly or pilot a speedboat to talk somewhere else and talk over the phone. All quick witted and distant. It's all supposed to keep the audience wondering and guessing. Which is what it does, makes you wonder why any of it matters and try to guess if there will be any action or resonance with a character. Which is the film's greatest weakness.

You can't relate to any of the characters. All you are watching is a bunch of ethnically and gender diverse bad asses with cool cars, helicopters and boats go about being bad ass talkers and shooters. All presented in very fantastic heroism jumbled by dialogue, dialogue and more dialogue.

The only excitement comes from basic shootouts with shock value due to the timing of action and subsequent gore. But I'm not sure they're exceptional other than how they effectively remove you from the slow anxiety of watching the film not mean anything. The final one in particular seems like a low budget night rehash of the Heat shootout in the dark on grainy video with subpar sound effects.

There's no need to care for the characters. Gong Li is the film's only redemption. She acts with her body. Probably because she's not very good with English. It seems like one of the movie's major intents was to instill minority actors into invincible heroic roles. The white FBI agent is incompetent. White trash and jealous Latino dudes are the baddies, a random black pimp is just left to be. Come watch them get graphically shot to pieces by men and women of color. There's no internal development or conflict. They all talk and stare like Max at his turning point in Felix's club in "Collateral". There's no fear. Come in get the job done. Get er done! And we as the audience have to admire them for their cool cars and cool actions. Maybe only cool people like this movie. There's no depth or passion to any of it. Just cool people being cool in coolly stylized shots. And you won't even care about the questions it leaves unanswered cuz it's not cool to stress out over it. You might feel jealous or passionate and get shot in your "inner medulla by a bullet going 2750 feet per second".

I hope this isn't the start of Mediocre Michael Mann. The idea pains my heart.

There is almost a documentary quality to this movie. Aside from one short sequence the film almost exclusively focuses on the characters at work. In essence the film is about two groups of exceptionally competent professionals- one set cops, one drug dealers - at work. And their work is a cat and mouse conflict between the two. There are almost no exposition or explanatory scenes. Similarly the film makes no concessions to the viewers in terms of the use professional jargon and language. The viewer is thrown in at the deep end, as in many documentaries, and has to work out for themselves what is going on.

In other words the film treats its viewers as intelligent people and challenges them to understand. If you are prepared to accept the film on these terms then it is quite a stunning experience - beautifully shot, well acted, with some exceptional and realistic action sequences - by one of the finest directors alive.

This film is several leagues ahead of the brainless pulp that often passes for thrillers or action movies. Outstanding.

I thought the movie was slick and stylish, yet Mann gave absolutely no nods towards one of the biggest t.v shows of all time, aside from the characters having the same names and residing in Miami.

Where was the boat? The alligator? The ex-wife? The kid? Where was Miami? The scenes shot there could have pretty much been anywhere on the coastline of the States. Mann reportedly said a few years back that Miami isn't an interesting place to him anymore. Well he made that quite apparent with his new version of Miami Vice.

I, against popular opinion, actually thought he made a good choice in Farell. I don't really like the guy but he seems to be convincing in most of his roles, and who's better to play a party hard, rough around the edges renegade than a party hard, rough around the edges, erm, renegade.. ahem. But as it's been stated over and over, Farell and Foxx had no chemistry whatsoever. They barely even looked at each other. In fact, Foxx's role could have pretty much been played as well by most African American actors, given the amount of screen time the guy had.

I came out of the movie feeling like I wanted to hit a club, drink mojito's and pick up a model. Which I did, almost.

Miami Vice was a slick cop story with a shaky plot and cool visuals. But if you're looking for any references to the series then forget it, aside from a crap cover version of In The Air tonight thrown on during the end credits (originally sung by Phil Collins in the series pilot).

What was great about the series was the style, the attitude, the music. The film got one out of three of those right.

I must admit as a Michael Mann fan, going all the way back to Thief, I was a bit underwhelmed when this movie first came out on '06. But a second and third viewing later on impresses with how Mann still has all of his talents on full display (the perfect music mix, the moody lighting, the clean and brutal fight and shoot out scenes and ,yes, a couple very hot sex scenes) OK, the dialogue and much of the setup are ridiculous. It's nowhere nearly as realistic as Thief or Heat. Still, this is very enjoyable filmmaking. Now that it's on Amazon, there's no reason not to have a fun 2:15. I'm disappointed there was no sequel.

Just saw the film today- I am a big fan of Michael Mann' films but I must say I was somewhat disappointed. The story is realistic and believable, the acting was on point for the most part and of course the cinematography was excellent. The films biggest fault-unintelligible dialog. I viewed Miami Vice in a digital surround theater,and the effects-gunshots,helicopters,speedboats,sports cars etc.were plenty clear but I found myself straining to hear most of what the actors were saying. Of course, the heavy accents and macho low voice tones didn't help. Its a good drug/crime action movie but very far from the caliber of films Mann is known for(Heat,Collateral). I remember rushing home in the eighties to see Miami Vice,I don't think I ever missed an episode. Maybe I just expected too much.

From director Michael Mann and based on the 1980s television series comes this flashy, but overlong and unfocused Miami action flick about Vice detectives Sonny Crockett (Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) who must go deep undercover and throw their personal lives into disarray in order to stop an international drug trafficking scheme. Pulls you in with its stylish direction and flamboyant visuals, but the two leads have poor chemistry, character development is almost nonexistent, and the film drags on from one convoluted plot twist to the next. Action scenes provide a spark every once in a while, but overall the film is frustrating and never provides one single reason to care about any of its characters! A disappointment considering the cast and crew involved. **

I am one of the many people who are seeing this film and have not even heard of the source material, I am too young to know what it is yet I am old enough to see the new and enjoy it. This film is not as good as the other Micheal Mann film with Jamie Foxx (Collateral for those in the know), but it still has its moments even though they are way to bloody for their own good. The acting is fairly nice in some parts, but is over acted with silly accents here or under acted with little emotion in some parts. The middle part of the film that with little reason skips out for an arguably more romantic half hour between Colin and Gong could be cut out or left in, but the action scenes are enjoyable and the plot progresses at a nice pace. This movie will most likely be enjoyed by action film people who aren't slow at following plots, but I found that even my mother enjoyed this movie. It may be graphic and a little on the long side, but it is a fairly good film that can be enjoyed by many.

Michael Mann's 2006 cinematic update of the 80s-television show "Miami Vice" is gritty, violent, and nothing like the television show it is updating. Opening the movie during an undercover operation, we are introduced to the new Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs. We, the audience, are also introduced to the high-risk crime world these characters are a part of. Mann's picture is very detailed and seems to be more interested in being an undercover police procedural. That is until love connections of the two main characters are developed, trying to make these two characters more human and identifiable (and, in an all-too-calculated fashion make the high-risk world riskier). After the long-winded and uneven set-up arrives the movie's action set pieces, Mann's directoral specialty. But, what makes "Miami Vice" entertaining are its remarkable and impressive visuals. Michael Mann and cinematographer Dion Beebe, again, use the HD-digital camera and create a visual feast for the eyes (Some images making the movie seem better than it actually is). The beauty of exotic locales, a plane in flight, a boat traveling in the water, even the characters on top of building among the city's skyline are all gorgeously shot. Ultimately, it all adds up to an okay movie. Not close to the greatness Mann achieved in "Heat" or "Collateral". But, let's just say, its what "Bad Boys 2" (not a Mann picture) should have aspired to be.

Michael Mann's feature film adaption of his seminal 80s TV series comes across as a complex, exciting and thoughtful drama and is totally removed from both the TV series and a stereotypical view of what this film audiences might have expected. Nevertheless it is accessible and hugely entertaining.

The action sequences are like Heat, only as a result of the development of the story. They are grounded, realistic and very exciting. The story, while paying homage to the original TV is complex, involving, thoughtful and engrossing, and Michael Mann's use of digital cameras really works for this film in helping tell this story.

The film drops you straight into a "day on the job" and intelligence that is received by Crockett and Tubbs, both very well played by Colin Firth and Jamie Foxx, while on this job leads them into a new deep undercover role. Gong Li is also very impressive in the role as part of a drug dealing cartel. In fact, all performers are first rate and their low key and introspective performances are the major successes of the film. The characters are played as being on the job for a long time, and it looks like that all the key characters have become so immersed in the job that is all they live for. The development of Firth and Gong's character is interesting within the context of the story as we see the flickering's of a life beyond their day to day existence, just as an event in the film leads to the subtle humanising of Foxx's character, but as to whether these character changes are permanent, the viewer will need to judge for themselves.

Action scenes are exceptional in their gritty execution. Dion Beebe's camera-work is first rate, and the use of characters presented in silhouettes works very well in terms of the subliminal message of the work they are doing being in shadow. There are some interesting effects of the digital filming, with some action scenes having an almost video like look. The mix of songs and Jon Murphy's score works well and really creates a mood for the story to play out in.

Director Michael Mann again orchestrates the film with skill and style. As shown on films such as the Insider, he brings superb visual storytelling to dialogue and character focused scenes and yet handles action scenes in an involving and exciting way.

In summary a entertaining thriller. It is a shame that it was not successful enough to warrant a sequel.

"Miami Vice" is a dark, raw, shoot-em-up flick that serves as a love letter to and a scathing commentary on the world of crime dramas -- a world Michael Mann helped define in the original "Vice" TV series.

Yes, the film is so steeped in jargon and verite-style film-making that the plot is hard to follow, but that's sort of the point. These vice cops are treading territory that's so familiar to the average film-goer (how many crime dramas have you seen in your lifetime?) that director Michael Mann refuses to waste time with familiar setups. And that's the film's greatest asset and its biggest flaw.

There's no pandering. We're thrown right into the mix -- a confusing whirlwind of bullets, intrigue and neon lights. But that also means there's no background, no explanations and no stopping for breath. We hear whispered and hurried conversations about drug smuggling and sting operations. Someone's cover's been blown. Drop the ammo. Crockett's going deep. Run the load after dark. It's all so quick and mind-boggling, we're fascinated... even if we don't know exactly what's happening. But when you start to care for these characters (as I did during an amazingly touching sequence in which Crockett seduces the crime boss' moll, played by Gong Li), you also wish you knew more about them.

Once you start feeling for Crockett, you realize that you have no idea what his character has invested in the story. And, truth be told, the film's been so intriguing up until that point that you didn't care (or understand) what the story was about anyway. And just when the film seems to make sense, it picks up Crocket and whisks him away. The story gets darker and thicker, like quicksand, and eventually swallows Crockett and Tubbs whole. And then they're lost. But maybe that's the point.

Crockett, in the end, is a type, not a character. He is THE cop -- the one who lives for his job, goes undercover and loses his identity, then returns home to nothing... except his job. He's that American icon, the shoot-em-up cop. He has a duty but no identity. And when the film is over, Michael Mann has pulled off an intriguing magic trick. He's taken the cold, unknowable Crockett and convinced us that he's NOT the flat and undeveloped action hero we thought we were watching. He's empty and pitiable. He's the sad result of years and years of recycled and rerun action characters bleeding themselves dry on the big and small screen. He's no longer just a caricature. He's a tragic caricature. And unlike Gong Li's character, who seized the opportunity to save herself, Crockett turned it away. Why? Well, that's what he does. It was in the script. It's always been in the script.

Could Michael Mann have made the ultimate existentialist action film?

If such a genre exists, there's no wonder "Miami Vice" would be deemed too convoluted to win over casual viewers and too muddled to be truly successful. But, you have to admit, it's still an intriguing and exciting ride.

While this is called 'Miami Vice' and has the same names as the characters from the TV show, thats where the similarities end. This is a no nonsense undercover cop thriller. There are no 'buddy cops', wisecracks, car chases, or O.T.T action, so the casual movie goer is going to be a little bemused by what they are seeing. But fans of Michael Mann's work will be in seventh heaven, because this has all the director's trademarks.

There's some stunning camera-work (A lot of it digital), and some beautifully rendered sequences in this and some explosive action (But don't go expecting 'Lethal weapon' style action.) The trailer park stand off with the white supremacists was my favourite scene and an abject lesson in how to put suspense on screen.

Performances are all very good, right down to the smaller parts and the plot demands attention. I found the films running time flew by. Its so refreshing to see a cop thriller for adults, with no silliness and one that doesn't insult the audiences intelligence.

Best film so far this year.

I recently had the profound displeasure of viewing this film. Along with my two amigo's, I was shocked by the dearth of quality in this film. The first thing I picked up on was the lack of lighting. It was scarce throughout the film, leaving faces indistinguishable. As such, facial expressions were rendered completely useless.

Next, I come to the completely inadequate dialogue. For a start it was entirely in another language. I don't speak gangsta, and relied on my friend who is a fan of rap to translate what rare segments of speech were audible. One man had only two lines I heard and comprehended. "Still no shooter," and "Calm down!" were the sole words I understood from the mouth of the police chief.

Finally, the plot. I am still speechless as to how to two "undercover" police men managed to infiltrate the biggest drugs cartel in the world on what seemed to be a whim. Their brand of police work seemed to consist of sleeping with anyone they can, while coincidently finding clues. Miss Marple would be better suited to the case.

Please: DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY ON THIS FILM.