2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Solidrariol Am I Missing Something?

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Michael Mann's Miami Vice is a lot of things. Hypnotic, sedated mood piece. Thrumming, rhythmic action picture. Deeply romantic. More going on underneath it's surface than what you see onscreen. Masterful crime piece. Showcase for digitally shot film. Restless, nocturnal urban dream. One thing it is decidedly not, however, is anything similar to the bright 'n sunny, pastel suited 80's cable TV show of the same name, also pioneered by Mann, at a more constricted and likely very different point in his career. A lot can be said for the show though, it's instantly iconic and was one among a stable of crimeprimetime (The Equalizer and Crime Story did their part as well) to give many actors their break, actors who we take for granted as stars today. Mann's film version is a different beast entirely, a likely reason for the uneasy audience reception. Let's be clear: it's one of the best films of the last few decades. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx make a deliberately moodier, more dangerous Ricardo and Tubbs, and their high stakes undercover work is set against an austerely fatalistic Miami that bares little resemblance to travel brochures, let alone the tv show many were used to. Their story starts one of two ways, depending on whether or not you view the extended director's cut, which is the version I'd choose as it sets up tone before throwing you into a hectic nightclub sting operation they've got going, which is hastily interrupted by the exposure of a CI snitch (John Hawkes in a haunting cameo). This sets them on course to take down a powerful Cuban drug syndicate run by a scarily calm Luis Tosar and hotheaded maverick John Ortiz. Farrell gets involved with a girl from their fold, of course (Gong Li is a vision), a romance that has grown on me over the years, while Foxx is involved with beautiful fellow cop Naomie Harris, yielding heart wrenching moments in the final act. Darting in and out of the story as well are Tom Towles, Justin Theroux, Isaach De Bánkole, Eddie Marsan, Barry Shabaka Henley, Tony Curran and Ciaran Hinds, all vital cogs in a well oiled, momentous machine that doesn't drop it's pulse for a second. Composer John Murphy piles on the mood with his mournful score, highlighting evening boat-rides, shadowy shoot outs and outdoor nightclubs with a top tier soundscape, while cinematographer Dion Beebe works tirelessly to get shot after shot looking mint, not an easy task with a film this energetic and particularly lit. From start to finish it's to the point as well, Mann has no interest in useless exposition, mapped out play by plays or cheesy moments. Everything careens along at a realistic pace and you're on your own if you can't keep up or make sense of the off the cuff cop jargon. There's stillness too though, in a torn up Farrell watching his love disappear on the horizon, Foxx looking on from beside a hospital bed or simply either of them glowering out at the skyline from a rooftop pulpit before things Heat up. Like I said, do the extended version and you'll get that terrific opener to set you up, instead of being thrown in the deep end right off the bat. Either way though, Miami Vice is one for the ages.

matthewacollier 100Viewed Theatrical CutAs luxurious as it is beautiful, Michael Mann's Miami Vice is one of the most bizarre movies I've ever seen. Not necessarily in content, but more so in how that content is shot, scored, and cut together into a film. The cinematography is beautifully strange, utilizing hand-held in a way similar to Hard to Be a God(or should I say Hard to Be a God is shot in a way similar to this?), and the way the film is edited is so unorthodox is scene structure and narrative flow that it made me think that Michael Mann was warming up to Terrence Malick's method of jagged editing, deciding to use it in a police procedural, of all things, to make a wholly original experience. The film manages to have a luxurious pace that also has a very consistent flow to it, keeping the plot running while developing character and atmosphere simultaneously, making every single second count. It's astonishing the way the film manages to apply this editing style to something so seemingly foreign, and make it all gel together. The performances are extremely strong as well, with Jamie Foxx giving one of his best performances I've ever seen from him, as well as Colin Farrell bringing a multifaceted character to life beautifully in the course of the narrative. One thing I did notice was a distinct lack of action, but what I realize now is that this isn't even really an action movie. It has 3 great action sequences, but it's really about the way the characters function with each other and with their environment in Miami. It's all so idiosyncratic, yet unmistakably successful, that the entire film feels like an entirely foreign world from ours despite the level of realism that the film captures. I don't have anything else to say about this beast of a film, unfortunately; it's greatness eludes me. For now, just know that I loved this movie, and although not everyone will love it(there's no surprise that this film and Knight of Cups have nearly the same rating on IMDb, they practically share the same textures), those who will will find they have discovered a small/big masterpiece.

Bored78 I agree with many of the other reviews that gave this movie a low rating.It was a rare occasion where the wife and i said enough an hour in and just turned it off. We do that for less than 1 out of every 100 movies.The characters are uninteresting. Nothing in this movie makes you care about them or feel like you know them or even if you care if they succeed. To be honest, The main characters could of been killed off in the first 30 minutes and i wouldn't of even noticed.I tried following the ploy, but it skips around constantly. Somewhere a long the way it got butchered to the point of being a non functional plot. To demonstrate how the plot is: Rip every 3rd page out of a book, then read the book and you have the plot of this movie.The plot is boring. Its been done literally 1000 times. And 999 of those have been better than this rendition. The main characters have sex with pretty much unknown characters. Since you don't care about the main characters nor the support characters, the sex scenes are even more worthless. We actually treated the sex scenes like commercials, they were that bad. Actually commercials would of been more entertaining.The audio is terrible. The characters mumble a lot and its dark a lot in the movie so you cant even read lips or facial expressions that well. My wife is British, and worked as HR for 4 years in tampa and she was struggling hard to understand the dialogue. She is use to dealing with a lot of different accents, so what does that tell you? Its like The entire film crew were college freshman. I imagine the uncut version was much better, and then it got butchered. This movie isn't even worth watching for free, i definitely wouldn't pay for it.

reisnersteven Before writing this I will say I'm not old enough to have watched the old show, which enables me to view this with more of an open mind. After finally watching this I could have and probably should have given it less than five stars. The only two saving graces of the film are Michael Manns directing, no doubt the film is visually appealing. After the directing it's Jamie Foxx who plays the role with a certain smoothness that gives his scenes an extra element of style. Unfortunately somehow during filming they must have forgotten he was there and decided to spend 45 minutes with Collin Farrell and his love interest that I could have done without. These two are supposed to be partners, they are never together, I wouldn't know their names if they weren't in the summary. No character development at all just a lot of bland dialogue. My expectations were raised by reviews on this site saying it's very violent and bloody. It's not. Yes there is blood but with a runtime over 2 hours I need more than one actual gunfight (i don't count scenes with 2 quick shots) before I call it violent, let alone very violent. It's slow moving, drawn out, the very few action scenes are completely predictable. If it wasn't for Michael Manns directing and the smoothness of Foxx Id probably give this two stars.