MIAMI VICE

Wow, this movie just gets better and better each time i watch it. I really cant believe I'm saying this. And its not a diss too Michael Mann, because i think he's an amazing filmmaker (as I'm sure some of you have heard me say plenty of times already), but a miami vice movie adaptation was something i had NO interest in seeing. I didn't care who was directing it. I guess that's why i never got around to watching 'Miami Vice' until late last year. In the last few months this has become one of my "go-to" movies when i cant decide what to watch or just need something to put on the TV. Even when I'm doing something else and cant pay attention to the television, this is the perfect movie to have on. I mean, you don't need to pay attention to the plot to realize how beautifully this movie is shot. And I'm saying this without even owning one of those nice hd TVs or a blu-ray player (i still own a big tube television). I don't know how many of you have actually been to miami, but Ive been there quite a few times and as far as I'm concerned, Michael Mann does an amazing job of catching the cities true vibe, just like how Robert Altman shows Los Angeles or how Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese capture New York City. Without making things distracting, Mann makes great use of cities nightclubs, architecture, palm trees, neon lights and beaches...

And in a more subtle and (somewhat) realistic way, Mann captures the vibe of the original T.V. show (although at the end of the day the movie is pure fantasy just like the show was (and i guess if you weren't in to the tv show that comparison doesn't help, but whatever)...

In the film, Jamie Foxx and Colin Ferrell star as the iconic TV characters "Crockett & Tubbs", who go undercover to infiltrate a major drug operation run by a Spanish kingpin who's in a partnership with local miami skinheads. This movie is underrated. People look at me like I'm crazy when i tell them how much i love it. When it comes to action films that involve cops, I think people have gotten way too caught up in that cliche of the "gritty, realistic, cop drama" genre. I mean, its MIAMI VICE. this isn't hill street blues or law & order. When you watch miami vice, you should put aside all those images of detailed forensics and cops walking the beat on rainy new york city streets, and just enjoy the movie for what it is: great entertainment. Don't get me wrong, its not like the movie doesn't have a few plot holes or flaws in logic, but so did the TV show (which Michael Mann also produced), yet people didn't seem to have a problem with that. Why does the TV show, which is considered a "classic", get a pass, while the movie takes scrutiny from people, who i imagine some of haven't even seen the movie. And strangely enough, as flashy and "pretty looking" as 'Miami Vice' may be, the digital film making style of Mann adds a little hint of that gritty realism that i mentioned earlier.
Sure, Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell aren't Daniel Day Lewis and Robert Deniro (in his prime), but their performances in this movie get no complaints from me. And the supporting cast, made up actors known mostly for their indie and arthouse work, really round out the cast: Eddie Marsan (vera drake and happy go lucky), Isaach Debankole (ghost dog, white material, manderlay), Justin Theroux (mulholland drive and inland Empire) and John Hawkes (winters bone, me and you & everyone we know). The score to miami vice does the job, but its still not as good as the music in Mann's other films like the insider or heat. In fact, Mann's ear for the use of good music in a film is often slept on too.
Furthermore, Miami Vice was the movie that made me realize the "eye" that Michael Mann has for setting up BEAUTIFUL shots. I always knew there was something about the look of his movies that stood out among other studio films (even before he switched to digital film making). Even a movie of Mann's that's so-so, like Ali, or not very good at all, like Public Enemies, still has better cinematography than most contemporary films. Seriously, look at these movie stills below and tell me this guy doesn't have the talent for creating amazing shots...

So stop sleeping on 'Miami Vice'. I guarantee some of you haven't seen this, yet you totally wrote it off as stupid because it was an adaptation of a TV show that some consider to be cheesy. And if you saw Miami Vice back in 2006 and didn't like it, maybe its time to give it a 2nd chance.