Bill Geiger

By Michael Rechtshaffen

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Substance places a distant second to style in the big-screen version of "Miami Vice," which sees respected filmmaker Michael Mann returning to the scene of the crime series that so effectively defined a decade.

Gone are the pastel threads and the night-soaked neon that played such a big part in the show that was born of NBC Entertainment chief Brandon Tartikoff's simple yet wildly successful "MTV cops" concept.

In its place is a darker, grittier creature that, while benefiting considerably from Dion Beebe's high-definition cinematography, is a frustratingly inert affair -- a long and talky excursion that fails to engage the viewer from the outset.

Those in the market for some of that old Crockett-Tubbs camaraderie are bound to be disappointed by the Colin Farrell-Jamie Foxx model, in which the two actors appear to be engaged in a contest to determine who can appear more morose while expending the least amount of energy, especially in terms of their own flat exchanges.

Maybe it had something to do with that Miami heat, but the languid results likely won't be much of a tonic for the summer's lackluster box office -- pirate pictures excepted.

In updating the series, which ran from 1984-89, writer-director Mann has moved beyond the trendsetting South Beach color scheme and into murkier waters for this story that pits undercover vice cops Sonny Crockett (Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) against nasty international drug traffickers.

Drawn into a world of sophisticated cartels, the two face off against Aryan Brotherhood thugs and a beautiful but tough Chinese-Cuban money launderer (the latter played by not always easy to understand Gong Li), but Mann's writing keeps getting in the way of his direction.

The picture takes a stylistic cue from his previous film, "Collateral," also lensed by Beebe. But where that L.A. nocturne so effectively ratcheted up the tension, "Miami Vice" merely ratchets up the pretension, with too many potentially explosive sequences just ending up hanging there like the Florida humidity.

All the stilted dialogue -- more like the sentence fragments standing in for dialogue -- certainly don't help the actors' cause, especially those for whom English is unmistakably a second language. But even in silence Foxx and Farrell fail to generate any convincing buddy cop chemistry.

Taking advantage of the larger canvas, Mann expands the scenario to include stops in Uruguay, Paraguay and the Dominican Republic (which doubles for Haiti), but for all the cosmopolitan intrigue, "Miami Vice" just doesn't go anywhere interesting.

Even the music, which played such a key role on the TV series, is a letdown here.

In the absence of Jan Hammer's propulsive original theme, composer John Murphy's anonymous score and song contributions by the likes of Moby and Audioslave fail to reach the mood-setting heights of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight," updated here in an uninspired cover by Nonpoint.

While costume designer Janty Yates' steely, monochromatic Crockett and Tubbs duds are certainly in keeping with the grainier tone, it just ain't "Miami Vice" without those immortal powder blue or lime green sports jackets.

RichC2

Mind changing this into a regular review thread instead of focusing in on one negative review?

PopcornTreeCt

Interesting still seeing it.

Mr. Cinema

I'll still be seeing this opening day. It's been near the top of my Summer list all year.

The Antipodean

While I love Michael Mann, I think this will disappoint a lot of people who expect some '80s-fied retread like "The Brady Bunch Movie" or something. Almost would've been better with a different name maybe.

RocShemp

I'll still be seeing it, negative reviews or not.

Willy

It's Michael Mann even if the movie sucks it is still going to have some amazing shots of miami in it.

Bill Geiger

I agree. Given that my favorite movie is one of his (Heat), I am hopeful I will like this.

clemente

In his first sentence the reviewer lost me. Does anyone remember what Miami Vice was about? No, they just remember Crocketta and Tubbs wore cool threads, lived in a cool city, and a cool soundtrack.

As he goes on, he bemoans the differences between the show and the movie, as if movies are best served by closely following the age old formula of the TV show (Dukes of Hazzard anyone?). Miami Vice the show was very much a show of its time....and this Miami Vice will be a movie of its time....20 years have passed, making the movie in the mold of the mid-80's would be plain ridiculous.

Sadly, I think this is what many people will be expecting.

Dr. DVD

I read in the recent EW that if you're looking for the 80s Miami Vice, you should stay away. This is supposed to be closer to Mann's original vision before the 80s cheese took over the show.

But sadly, I feel that is what people will be looking for, even though the previews make it obvious this isn't the case. It looks like a typical Michael Mann film, go figure.

BuddhaWake

so its this "bad boys 3" sans the humor?

Geofferson

Saturday night on NBC they aired some behind-the-scenes footage of the new movie. Looks very promising to me.

Draven

That EW article also mentioned the series eventually brought in aliens (?!?!?) I was never a big fan but I didn't know they went there.

I'd rather see a gritty, hard-R version dripping with "cool" than a retread of an dated 80's series. I'm hoping to see it opening weekend.

DRG

I agree. The title is loaded with instant connotations, good or bad depending on your opinion of the original show. Andin both cases it could be a negative for the movie. People who love the show and want more of the same will be let down a bit. And people who hate the show may avoid this altogether if they think it's going to be more of the same.

Every time they've shown this trailer at a movie there's at least one person who giggles or growns when the words 'Miami Vice' appear onscreen. I'm not sure if this is a reaction to the show itself or to the fact that it's "yet another remake", but either way it's a possible factor.

gryffinmaster

Same problem with Mission Impossible III, imho. The film could have been mildly re-worked with a different title and might be more successful.

However, I'm definitely looking forward to seeing this. Never saw a single episode of the series, so that won't come into play. That, and I haven't been dissapointed by Mann yet.

TheMovieman

Big Michael Mann fan, so I'm there on Friday night...

Dan1boy

Seeing it regardless. Michael Mann is an incredible director. Can't wait.

lordwow

One of my old co-workers (at a film related job) said he though Michael Mann was the best director of all time (I'm not convinced). But, having rewatched all of his stuff after hearing that, he definately has a unique style that I would like to see more of in Hollywood. Count me in on this, even if it's not great.

Giles

a bad review or even a good review couldn't sway me to waste my time with this movie.

Russell S

To each his own then. For me, a bad or good review couldn't sway me from NOT seeing this. I've had critics convince me to see a movie I wasn't originally interested in, but never once have they talked me out of seeing one.

bhk

See every time I hear Miami Vice I think of those Bacardi ads with those guys in the bad hairpieces.

Dr. DVD

Anyone care to change this to a "Miami Vice-Reviews" thread as opposed to one that seems to exist for the purpose of letting everyone know that one critic thinks it sucked? I also notice that the OP didn't elaborate on why he posted the review, he just posted it and did nothing else; it's like he doesn't like the idea of the movie and decided to have a thread to justify it.

I will say that while I will see it, Miami Vice has some major obstacles against it. For one, even when critics praise his work, Michael Mann movies have a hard time making bank due to his style. Second, rated R movies have a difficult time making bank at anytime of the year nowadays, but especially the summertime. Third, a lot of people are making the wrong connections and getting the wrong expectations for this movie, or so I think.

Rogue588

Yeah. I like Mann and all, but i'm staying away from this. I have my two seasons of Vice on DVD. That's all I need.

However, I must admit that if Mann had made this flick and called it something other than "Miami Vice" and Foxx and Farrell something other than "Tubbs" and "Crockett", I still wouldn't have had that much interest in it.

Dr. DVD

Why not, if you like Mann and all?

Bluelitespecial

I think this thread should be closed, and an official review thread started.