Movies / Movie Reviews

Miami Vice

By Tony Farinella
August 25, 2006 - 08:16

MIAMI VICE started off in a cool looking night club with good looking people dancing, having fun, while Foxx/Farrell observe. I did not know why we were in this night club. I did not know who we were watching or why. I did not know how we got here. I did not know where we were going. This confusion lasted throughout the 2 hour and 15 minute lengthy duration of MIAMI VICE.

As movie fans we go to the movies for many reasons. We go to be involved, most of all. We want to feel sad during dramas and cry. We want to care for the good guy and underdog, while booing the evil bad guy. We want to be scared during a horror film. We want to feel something. An emotion. Something that gets to us in some way. If we are not involved, why are we here? Why are we watching? We might as well entertain ourselves then.

MIAMI VICE is an example of a movie full of sound and fury signaling a whole lot of nothing. One can't help but wonder what Michael Mann saw in this project and what interested him in doing it. Michael Mann is known for his top-notch cinematography, top-level acting, solid stories, great kill sequences, and cool looking people in his films. The cinematography as far as Mann is considered is good, but nothing really stood out. It just seemed like random shots that he thought were nice looking, but didn't really go along with the story.

The acting in-particular Colin Farrell is flat, wooden, and not a lot of talking involved. Farrell mumbles and grunts a lot, and has a performance so wooden, I wanted to yell out "Timber!" every time he made an appearance on screen. Foxx who had a fantastic 2004 with COLLATERAL and RAY is a charismatic actor who has nothing to work with here, as he mumbles off your typical drug/cop talk. Li Gong who plays a business woman and love interest of Farrell is laughable awfully as her English is terrible and I spent half the film trying to figure out what she was saying.

Mann who is known for his intense back-stories on characters, and attention to plot does little new here with the story. The story is essentially all over the map. I was trying to figure out what was going on at point A, and they were already at point D. I didn't know who was doing business with who, who was conning who, who was the leader, who was good, who was bad, who had products, who had the drugs. Eventually I just gave up trying to figure it out, and just looked at my watch and counted down the minutes until this mess ends.

The kill scenes are intense, quick, and done in Mann fashion, but imagine how much more it would have meant if we knew what was going on, and who the characters were. I also didn't like the outfits and the style of the characters. Farrell wears a white shirt that I've seen people wear around Oak Lawn (my area). If I see MIAMI VICE, I want kick ass clothes and stuff I have not seen. Take a look at Martin Scorsese's CASINO. De Niro's outfits were over the top and lavish. Which is what Vegas is.

In 2005, I put ELIZABETHTOWN as one of the worst films of the year. Which was done by Cameron Crowe, who is one of my favorite directors and has written some of my favorite films. This year, looking into my crystal ball, I see Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE as one of the worst films of the year along with NACHO LIBRE, JUST MY LUCK, and LITTLE MAN. It just proves that every genius, mastermind, and great director has a bad film in them. I just didn't know it was going to be this bad. The trailers before the film had trailers for a Martin Scorsese film, and a Brian De Palma film. Let's hope those aren't this bad.

Grade: D-

Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12