The jaws of the vice
Added 10/2/2009
Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" is a dark and moody thriller which is only vaguely related to the TV show of the same name. Colin Farrell (Sonny) and Jamie Foxx (Rico) star in this exotic film which is filmed in a harsh grainy manner that accentuates the rough and seedy world depicted. As with "Collateral" this film was mostly filmed with a Thomson Viper Filmstream Camera with the rest filmed on Super 35mm.
Like other movies Mann has directed, such as "Heat" or "Collateral", we are dragged into the dark and dangerous places of the crime underworld. In "Miami Vice" we are taken from the bright beaches of Miami to deep within the heart of darkness of the South American drug world. I was impressed with the overall pace, and tone of this film. The movie oscillates between the wide bright expanses of the Miami coast during the day, and constricts into the narrow crowded shipyards, canals, and trailer parks at night. Like a boa constrictor this movie is constantly coiling and uncoiling as it snuffs out its victims one by one.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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What is wrong with you people?
Added 9/28/2009
OK, I've read a lot of the lower-star reviews of this, and I'm completely floored by some of these comments. So please allow me to frame my review in the form of answering other people's opinions.
1. "It's called Miami Vice, but hardly anything happens in Miami." - It's called an international drug trade, people. That's why things take place in Haiti, Uruguay, Havana, Columbia, etc. These are the places that the drugs come from. In real life, the cops have to seek out these things at the source. Hell, if they were to just wait for this stuff to show up on American soil, they've lost half the battle.
2. "The action is boring and there's not enough of it." - Okay, it's not that it's boring, it's just shot and performed realistically. You people are so used to being spoon-fed flashy Hollywood action scenes, with jump-cut editing and unbelievably loud sound effects, that being confronted with an actual tactical gunfight, you don't know what to do. And as for there not being enough action, do you think undercover work is all shootouts?
3. "There's no chemistry between Farrell and Fox." - While they don't seem buddy-buddy, I think they have a realistic relationship. In their line of work, especially on the job, they have to be all business. Did you guys expect them to be cracking jokes and stealing each other's girlfriends? Along those lines, the number of people reviewing this that look back fondly on the "Bad Boys" movies physically disgusts me.
4. "It doesn't look like the show." - What the heck do you expect, pastels, pretty sunsets, and sailboats? Does it make you mad that Crockett's pet alligator doesn't make an appearance? The way I look at it, the original Miami Vice was Michael Mann's creation, so he can do whatever he wants with the film. The fact that he chose to make a movie that really digs into what guys like this do is refreshing, rather than putting on some glitzy "T&A and palm trees" spectacle.
5. "Gong Li looks horrible and her accent is bad." - First off, she is in her 40's. You don't have to look airbrushed at that age. Would you kick her out of bed? And as far as her accent, she speaks only Mandarin, so she had to learn all her lines phonetically, so give her a break!
6. People seem to have a problem with some of the terms the guys use. Listen, as hokey as it sounds, "go-fast boats" is actually a phrase people use to describe those watercraft. And as hokey as it may seem to hear things like "op sec" or "transpo", those are real terms used in this kind of work!
While people say they wish it looked like the show, I think what the real problem is that it doesn't look like that apex of bad television - "CSI: Miami". Here, there's no burnt-sienna skies, no cutaways to inexplicable helicopter shots of the Miami scenery or jump cuts to bikinis on the beach, no gaudily-lit police station shots. It actually looks like Miami, for chrissakes! I was sold on the look of this movie when Crockett walks out on to the balcony near the beginning and you see the amazing deep focus of the skyline and the night sky. The fact that this was shot on digital video enabled them to capture amazing things like the clouds. I mean, look at the boat race at the beginning - it's beautiful.
Now I won't say this is a problem-free film. I don't understand Tubb's overwrought concern for the prostitute in the club scene. And to me, John Ortiz's accent seems way to affected - it sounds like a white guy playing at being a Latino, even though John is hispanic. And yes, the fact that Colin and Gong Li's relationship is staring everyone in the face, and doesn't become an issue until later, is kinda dumb. And admittedly, a lot of inertia is lost in the middle when their relationship is being explored. But hey, every movie has problems.
Overall, this is a much subtler film than people expected. It's got a huge budget and it was a summer movie, so that fact that it went more for reality than glitz probably underwhelmed a lot of people. While it would rank it under "Heat" and "Collateral" in Michael Mann's ouvre, I still like it. And hey, any movie that stars Colin Farrell (who usually I can't stand and who I believe is one of the most egotistical actors ever), and is still watchable to me, has got to be quite an achievment!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Mann's Monument
Added 9/17/2009
One of the most well-researched storylines in the genre, and a good experiment in new digital filmmaking technology. Fast-paced milestone capturing the high of going as far and as deep undercover as oxygen allows...
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Purchased as a gift fot my hubby to add to his collection. Loved the movie.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Miami Vice
Added 6/13/2009
Good movie. Not like the show though with Don Johnson. However, I sincerely enjoyed the movie.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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The jaws of the vice
Added 10/2/2009
Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" is a dark and moody thriller which is only vaguely related to the TV show of the same name. Colin Farrell (Sonny) and Jamie Foxx (Rico) star in this exotic film which is filmed in a harsh grainy manner that accentuates the rough and seedy world depicted. As with "Collateral" this film was mostly filmed with a Thomson Viper Filmstream Camera with the rest filmed on Super 35mm.
Like other movies Mann has directed, such as "Heat" or "Collateral", we are dragged into the dark and dangerous places of the crime underworld. In "Miami Vice" we are taken from the bright beaches of Miami to deep within the heart of darkness of the South American drug world. I was impressed with the overall pace, and tone of this film. The movie oscillates between the wide bright expanses of the Miami coast during the day, and constricts into the narrow crowded shipyards, canals, and trailer parks at night. Like a boa constrictor this movie is constantly coiling and uncoiling as it snuffs out its victims one by one.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
What is wrong with you people?
Added 9/28/2009
OK, I've read a lot of the lower-star reviews of this, and I'm completely floored by some of these comments. So please allow me to frame my review in the form of answering other people's opinions.
1. "It's called Miami Vice, but hardly anything happens in Miami." - It's called an international drug trade, people. That's why things take place in Haiti, Uruguay, Havana, Columbia, etc. These are the places that the drugs come from. In real life, the cops have to seek out these things at the source. Hell, if they were to just wait for this stuff to show up on American soil, they've lost half the battle.
2. "The action is boring and there's not enough of it." - Okay, it's not that it's boring, it's just shot and performed realistically. You people are so used to being spoon-fed flashy Hollywood action scenes, with jump-cut editing and unbelievably loud sound effects, that being confronted with an actual tactical gunfight, you don't know what to do. And as for there not being enough action, do you think undercover work is all shootouts?
3. "There's no chemistry between Farrell and Fox." - While they don't seem buddy-buddy, I think they have a realistic relationship. In their line of work, especially on the job, they have to be all business. Did you guys expect them to be cracking jokes and stealing each other's girlfriends? Along those lines, the number of people reviewing this that look back fondly on the "Bad Boys" movies physically disgusts me.
4. "It doesn't look like the show." - What the heck do you expect, pastels, pretty sunsets, and sailboats? Does it make you mad that Crockett's pet alligator doesn't make an appearance? The way I look at it, the original Miami Vice was Michael Mann's creation, so he can do whatever he wants with the film. The fact that he chose to make a movie that really digs into what guys like this do is refreshing, rather than putting on some glitzy "T&A and palm trees" spectacle.
5. "Gong Li looks horrible and her accent is bad." - First off, she is in her 40's. You don't have to look airbrushed at that age. Would you kick her out of bed? And as far as her accent, she speaks only Mandarin, so she had to learn all her lines phonetically, so give her a break!
6. People seem to have a problem with some of the terms the guys use. Listen, as hokey as it sounds, "go-fast boats" is actually a phrase people use to describe those watercraft. And as hokey as it may seem to hear things like "op sec" or "transpo", those are real terms used in this kind of work!
While people say they wish it looked like the show, I think what the real problem is that it doesn't look like that apex of bad television - "CSI: Miami". Here, there's no burnt-sienna skies, no cutaways to inexplicable helicopter shots of the Miami scenery or jump cuts to bikinis on the beach, no gaudily-lit police station shots. It actually looks like Miami, for chrissakes! I was sold on the look of this movie when Crockett walks out on to the balcony near the beginning and you see the amazing deep focus of the skyline and the night sky. The fact that this was shot on digital video enabled them to capture amazing things like the clouds. I mean, look at the boat race at the beginning - it's beautiful.
Now I won't say this is a problem-free film. I don't understand Tubb's overwrought concern for the prostitute in the club scene. And to me, John Ortiz's accent seems way to affected - it sounds like a white guy playing at being a Latino, even though John is hispanic. And yes, the fact that Colin and Gong Li's relationship is staring everyone in the face, and doesn't become an issue until later, is kinda dumb. And admittedly, a lot of inertia is lost in the middle when their relationship is being explored. But hey, every movie has problems.
Overall, this is a much subtler film than people expected. It's got a huge budget and it was a summer movie, so that fact that it went more for reality than glitz probably underwhelmed a lot of people. While it would rank it under "Heat" and "Collateral" in Michael Mann's ouvre, I still like it. And hey, any movie that stars Colin Farrell (who usually I can't stand and who I believe is one of the most egotistical actors ever), and is still watchable to me, has got to be quite an achievment!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Mann's Monument
Added 9/17/2009
One of the most well-researched storylines in the genre, and a good experiment in new digital filmmaking technology. Fast-paced milestone capturing the high of going as far and as deep undercover as oxygen allows...
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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