Review of Miami Vice (2006) by Jeff W — 20 Jun 2009

I was a huge fan of the original Miami Vice series, and I am also a fan of its producer, Michael Mann. While the show will probably always (and somewhat unfairly) be remembered for style over substance, the stories and characters that they wrote were always great. The Calderone (i.e., "The Colombian") storyline alone got 2 years of mileage during the series' run.

Mann is the only director that can get me in the door based on his name alone. His use of scenery becomes a character unto itself during a movie, and his intensive research into crime (a normal topic for a Mann movie) is thorough. Heat is the measuring stick for his movies, and in my opinion, is the most underappreciated movie of the 1990s. Mann has stated that this movie was his original vision for the Miami Vice concept and script, but NBC had already laid claim to the script before he could act on it. This movie is very much a reinvention of the characters that you might be familiar with...

...which is one of the things that I liked about it. If you're going into this movie expecting a trip down memory lane, you will be sorely disappointed. This film was very much a reinvention of the characters from the 1980s series (although certain plot points did remind me of the "Smuggler's Blues" episode from Season 1).

This gritty movie wastes no time getting started -- including allowing time for opening credits, of which there are none. The movie begins as Crockett and Tubbs (each perfectly cast as Colin Farrell and Jaime Foxx, respectively) staking out a nightclub. From there, Crockett receives a frantic phone call from an informant, and before you know it, the characters are knee-deep in a case that involves department leaks, drug running, and deception.

The characters of Switek, Zito, and even Lt. Martin Castillo are drastically underused. The characters of Crockett and Tubbs are written fine, but they are completely devoid of feeling. In the original series, you knew that Crockett and Tubbs would have taken a bullet for each other; in this presentation, you get the feeling that they are partners not by their own choice. There is next to no character development for either. You know nothing more about Crockett or Tubbs at the end of the movie than you do at the beginning.

Mann is also well-known for his placement of music in just the right parts of a movie in order to accentuate a mood or a scene. Music was one of the trademarks of the TV series, but as I said, this is a reinvention That is done to a lesser degree in this movie.

I liked the casting for this movie -- a lot -- but quite honestly, Farrell and Foxx are no Johnson and Thomas. I liked the scenery. I liked the plot. But something was just missing from this movie. Maybe my expectations were too high, considering how much I am a fan of all elements surrounding this effort. I wanted to love this movie, but the bottom line is that overall, I did not.