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Review #199 of 365
Film: Miami Vice [R] 132 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $6.75
Where Viewed: Harkins Northfield 18 & Ciné Capri, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 29 July 2006
Time: 3:20 p.m.
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In the mid-80s "Miami Vice" the tv series became a cultural phenomenon in the USA, introducing us to Jan Hammer's music, Miami lifestyles, and a new semi-formal attire made from cotton sport coats and pastel colored t-shirts. Indeed, actors Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as well as their respective characters, 'Sonny' Crockett and 'Rico' Tubbs, became household names. Believe it or not people, that was 20 years ago. Therefore, in the minds of certain Hollywood geniuses, prime time to make a movie version of the tv-series. Bring back the show's original creator to write and exec produce and put Michael Mann in charge, cast Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx, arguably two of the coolest yet hottest actors alive, make the show a little less "Miami" and a little more "deep undercover for the Feds" vice, update the music with the hottest sounds of the day, and it would seem that everything would be in place for an outstanding update of the original and perfect summer blockbuster. Yet, things don't always go as planned. It is difficult actually to put a finger on what exactly went wrong.
" Slow, flat, ponderous, sterile, and mostly unexciting, with phoned-in performances by Farrell and Foxx…to put it bluntly, one huge yawn-fest."
The convoluted, somewhat stale plot involves Crockett (Farrell) and Tubbs (Foxx) going deep, deep, deep, deep undercover for the Feds to find a mole in the Feds' operation. Why them? Well, that's hard to explain. A mole is suspected in the Fed's Miami operations because an informant that, coincidentally, Crockett and Tubbs turned over to work for the Feds, phones them just as he is about to be involved in what he knows is going to be a bad 'meet and greet' for they have captured his wife and threatened to kill her if he doesn't show up. Well, you see the movie and see if you can explain that part any better or make sense of it. When he ends up dead, Miami Vice is brought in, and the Feds come in to tap Crockett and Tubbs to find their mole. Well, to catch the mole, Crockett and Tubbs start about setting up a major drug transport operation with one of the Columbia's most wealthy and ruthless drug king pins. They meet the middle man, José Yero (John Ortiz), who is suspicious of them from the start, he forwards them up the chain to meet a woman Isabella (Li Gong) whose role is unclear, and then they finally meet the big boss, Arcángel de Jesús Montoya (Luis Tosar) who, despite Yero's reservations, gives them a chance to transport some of his merchandise. This goes on for a while with a lot of suspicion until Crockett starts having an intimate relationship with Isabella—she turns out to be the girlfriend of the king pin—if that doesn't sound too smart, well, let me introduce you to Sonny Crockett. What seems even less smart, however, is a meeting at one of José Yero's clubs where Tubbs takes his girlfriend along. She later becomes Yero's trump card when he threatens to kill her if Crockett and Tubbs don't deliver the merchandise according to his plan. Well, eventually, everything comes to a head with one climactic gun battle. I sit here writing this wondering how any of this fit together into a coherent film. Ah, it didn't.
Slow, flat, ponderous, sterile, and mostly unexciting, with phoned-in performances by Farrell and Foxx--hard to blame two of the greatest actors of their generation when they are asked to play what amount to bromidic cartoon characters in human form--even great music couldn't save this film from becoming, to put it bluntly, one huge yawn-fest.
Slow, flat, ponderous, sterile, and mostly unexciting, with phoned-in performances by Farrell and Foxx--hard to blame two of the greatest actors of their generation when they are asked to play what amount to bromidic cartoon characters in human form--even great music couldn't save this film from becoming, to put it bluntly, one huge yawn-fest.
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Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Click for 'Review Lite' [a 150-word review of this film]
Miami Vice [DVD](2006)
Miami Vice (Unrated Version) [DVD](2006)
Miami Vice: Season One [DVD](1984)
Miami Vice: Season Two [DVD](1985)
True Stories Of The Miami Vice Squad [DVD](2006)
Movies starring: Colin Farrell
• Jamie FoxxProjects directed by: Michael Mann
Other music by: Klaus Badelt
• Mark Batson• John MurphyOrganized Noize
| CD Soundtrack | VHS | DVD |
| TV Show Music | TV Series | Related Product |
| Related T-Shirts | Related T-Shirt | Related Toy |
Review-lite [150-word cap]
Twenty years ago, "Miami Vice" became a cultural phenomenon, introducing Jan Hammer's music, Miami lifestyles, and semi-formal attire made from cotton sport coats and pastel colored t-shirts. Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas became household names. So, put Michael Mann in charge of the movie version, cast Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx as Crockett and Tubbs, update the music, and make a perfect summer blockbuster. Sadly, things don't always go as planned. The convoluted, stale plot involves Crockett and Tubbs going undercover for the Feds to find a mole in the Miami Feds' operation. They plan to use drug transports from a Columbian drug lord to lure out the mole. Everything comes to a head with one climactic gun battle. Slow, flat, ponderous, sterile, and mostly unexciting, with phoned-in performances by Farrell and Foxx, even great music couldn't save this film from becoming, to put it bluntly, one huge yawn-fest.
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