Miami Vice (2006) - A-

Miami Vice has been ubiquitous on the cable movie stations and after watching parts of it 4-5 times during the last month, I decided it was time to analyze just what is going on. I saw this film opening day in July 2006 during the afternoon in a bad theater on a dusty screen. I’ll admit that I yawned and felt the middle dragged (specifically, the Gong Li-Colin Farrell love story). I felt the bad guys were ho-hum and wondered why Mann chose 2 unknown Hispanic bad guys when he used none other than Javier Bardem terrifically in his previous film Collateral. The overall feeling was overly serious with absolutely zero laughs.Click below for more of the underrated Miami Vice.

But I knew that I had seen something special and the film landed near the bottom of my top ten list of 2006. I loved the action scenes and thought the acting was great. I liked the structure of the film, beginning on another case and then suddenly switching to the actual story. There were tangents taken and the ending left some nice loose ends. The high-definition video allowed for interesting angles and lighting. The problem, I think, that most detractors had, was that it wasn’t remotely like the television show. The names were the same, but the tone and style were remarkably different. No pastels, no jokes, no alligator, and no houseboat. After many (many!) recent films based on old TV shows that were over-the-top jokey with predictable cameos and as thin as a runway model, Mann probably went too far the other way. If you called it something other than “Miami Vice”, it probably would not have been as lambasted by a paying public that felt hoodwinked.

Sure it’s a little too violent and the villains have too little charisma (especially compared to Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell). Farrell gives his best performance to date and his relationship with Gong Li grows stronger with every viewing. The casting of Gong Li was very risky, with the end result being mixed. Li doesn’t know English, so her lines were pronounced phonetically, leading to an unfortunate, difficult accent, but with the mute button on (necessary with small kids sometimes), she projects soul and loss and longing better than any actress around. As always, Mann’s choice in music is first-rate, providing strong emotions. This is a realistic, tough film for adults, who have been in one or two tough relationships. A brilliant update of the TV show, Mann’s growth as a director as well as his developed interests aren’t obvious on first glance, but very rewarding once you find them. A-