Director: Michael Mann
Writer: Michael Mann (Screenplay) Anthony Yerkovich (TV Series)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li Gong, Naomie Harris, Ciaran Hinds, Justin Theroux, Barry Shabaka Henley
Plot: Based on the 1980s TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.
Tagline – No Rules
Runtime: 2 Hours 12 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Safe and Simple
Story: Miami Vice starts with detectives Sonny Crockett (Farrell) and Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) working on their latest trafficking case in Florida, when officers are murdered, the case starts to become more personal, with the pair given the chance to go against procedure.
Sonny and Ricardo join forces with Montoya (Tosar) and his wife Isabella (Gong) who connect them with the people that will make them rich, while they are in the case the take down the drug lord, they must play the undercover roles until they get close to the evidence.
Thoughts on Miami Vice
Characters – Sonny Crockett is the flirty of the detective’s partnership, he finds himself getting close to Isabella which does risk everything with her being the wife of the drug lord. Ricardo is the straighter-faced part of the partnership, the smarter of the two and the one that is able to do extra research for any operation. Isabella is the wife of the drug lord that pair are investigating, she gets involved in an affair with Sonny which will see her risk everything and start to give up details of his shady operation. Trudy is Ricardo’s partner, she can handle herself in combat and is a valuable part of the team.
Performances – Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx do a solid job in this film, though they don’t get to make the most out of these characters, which you feel need something to make them seem different. Li Gong and Naomie Harris both fill the love interest roles well without needing to do that much with what they are doing.
Story – The story here follows the Miami Vice squad going undercover to track down a drug lord running riot in Miami, which seems them going across the boarders to get the truth to take them down. This is based on the popular television show, one I never saw, so I can’t compare it, the idea is cops going undercover in search for the truth, though it is played out with style of substance which only ends up making us feel distant to the events of the film. This is like what we have seen both, while it tries to be edgy, it doesn’t get that either and just becomes like an over long version of what we would have gotten from most cop dramas through the years.
Action/Crime – The action is simple too, which focuses more on the ideas of trying to add style to police break ins, which is what the crime side of the film does too, as it makes us want to see just how the world can operate.
Settings – The film uses the Miami settings to show how it could be easier to export or import drugs into the area from the island surrounding it.
Special Effects – The effects in the film do look weaker with on explosion being one that looks particularly bad.
Scene of the Movie – Breaking in.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – That explosion.
Final Thoughts – This is another desperate attempt to bring a much loved television show back to life on the bring screen, it doesn’t capture any of the magic and just ends up feeling like a generic action film.
Overall: Basic TV Remake.
