MovieChat Forums > Miami Vice (2006) Discussion > The "problems" with this movie:

The "problems" with this movie:


1. The time period. Ask people the first three things that come to mind when you think of the 1980s and Miami Vice will likely be on the list. Miami Vice was "MTV cops", a snapshot of everything that was cool about pop culture back then, the fashion, the music, the cars, and even the way people acted. This movie being set in the 21st century was a huge disconnect for most people who primarily associate Miami Vice with the 1980s.

2. Micheal Mann makes films based in reality. In his films you see people doing spectacular things for sure, but they are things that could really happen. They race boats, they haul ass in a Ferrari, the fly around in airplanes, and shoot it out with the bad guys...but it is shot and portrayed as how people would do these things in reality. This isn't Mission Impossible, or Terminator, James Bond, or Lethal Weapon. And it's not just the action, it's the dialog, the behaviors, the settings, the camera shots, the visuals...it's everything, and to me, it's my favorite thing about Micheal Mann films. Public Enemies, Heat, Collateral...they all have this feel of if you were actually there witnessing these events transpire. It lacks the Hollywood "gloss" that most movies have and I think many people can be turned off by that, especially in a film like Miami Vice, where people are coming into it with preconceived notions.

3. It wasn't a re-boot. The movie starts with the characters established and ready to "take it to the limit one more time". We are not spoon fed Sonny and Rico meeting each other and forming a partnership and explicitly introduced to Castillo and the rest of the team. In this day and age the re-boot is so overdone that people are expecting it, and honestly I think they find it confusing jumping right into a case without the hand-holding.

4. The cast/acting. This is probably the only complaint that I might slightly consider agreeing with. Foxx is hit or miss with me, and at times I felt like his performance was phoned in. Farrell I thought did okay, however his accent is noticeable a couple of times. I liked that they took the roles seriously, that they weren't playing the original actors, but the actual characters. I thought the characters were played a little subdued though, I remember Sonny being more outgoing, and Rico being more of a peacock, but I think this is attributed to these characters existing in 2006 and not 1985, which one of the themes of the 1980s was excess, which goes back to No. 1 on my list. Could also be because we jump right in to some heavy events happening that don't lend themselves to levity.

All these things are reasons I think people give this movie a hard time, but these are some of the reasons I LOVE this film. Definitely in my top 10. I think the closest thing I can think of that people that are critical of this film expected is the A-Team movie. Which was entertaining, yes, but also disposable. Miami Vice takes itself very seriously, and it pays off in a big way and in my opinion will be both timeless and a snapshot of an era, just like the TV series.

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Good post! 2 and 3 is what I've said for a while, Mann in this film is taking the viewer along with 2 undercover cops, that's why it's not spoon fed.

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Excellent well composed comment. And EXACTLY why I love Michael Mann movies. Starting with Thief.

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This post... I like it.

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Why would nr 2 be a "problem".

The real problem was the dialogue, no way people talk to each other that way.

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Unlike Don Johnson, I had a problem seeing Colin Farrell as a Florida cracker.

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