Miami Vice (2006)

Director:

Michael Mann

Writers (WGA):

Michael Mann (written by)
Anthony Yerkovich (TV series)

Release Date:

28 July 2006 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

No Law

Plot:

Based on the 1980's TV action/drama, this update focuses on vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs as their respective personal and professional lives become dangerously intertwined.

Plot Keywords:

Undercover | Detective | FBI Agent | Murder | Blood Spatter

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Colin Farrell	...	Sonny Crockett
Jamie Foxx	...	Ricardo Tubbs
Li Gong	...	Isabella (as Gong Li)
Naomie Harris	...	Trudy Joplin
Ciarán Hinds	...	FBI Agent Fujima
Justin Theroux	...	Detective Larry Zito
Barry Shabaka Henley	...	Castillo
Luis Tosar	...	Montoya
John Ortiz	...	Jose Yero
Elizabeth Rodriguez	...	Gina Calabrese
Domenick Lombardozzi	...	Detective Stan Switek
Eddie Marsan	...	Nicholas
Isaach De Bankolé	...	Neptune (as Isaach De Bankole)
John Hawkes	...	Alonzo Stevens
Tom Towles	...	Coleman

Also Known As:

Miami Vice (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

134 min | 140 min (unrated director's edition)

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English | Spanish | Cree

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:MA | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | Finland:K-15 | Ireland:15A | Spain:13 | Germany:16 | Italy:T | France:U | USA:R (certificate #42818) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A | Singapore:M18 | Norway:15 | Netherlands:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | Sweden:11 | Hungary:16 | Singapore:NC-16 (edited version) | Belgium:KT | Argentina:13 | Malaysia:18SG | Romania:I.C.-14 | China:13 | Argentina:14 | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R16

Filming Locations:

Atlántida, Canelones, Uruguay

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The false background for Sonny Burnett shows his birthday is 09/16/62, 5'8", 147 lbs (Colin Farrell is actually 5'11").

Goofs:

Continuity: In a very early scene when the helicopter is tracking the informers car, the helicopter changes direction yet the infrared camera display keeps showing images from a straight moving helicopter. This is definitely an infrared camera display because it is used in the next scene.

Quotes:

Det. Ricardo Tubbs: So what's going on?
Det. James 'Sonny' Crockett: As in?
Det. Ricardo Tubbs: As in there is undercover and then there is "Which way is up?".
Det. James 'Sonny' Crockett: What? Do you think I'm in so deep I forgot?
Det. Ricardo Tubbs: [Tubbs and Crockett look at each other closely] I will never doubt you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Miami Vice: The Game (2006) (VG)

Soundtrack:

Anthem

Solid but underwhelming

Due to Michael Mann's track record it was hard to go into this movie without very high expectations. After all, we are talking about the creator of arguably the greatest crime drama/thriller ever made with "Heat", as well as the highly entertaining "Collateral". But "Miami Vice" fails to live up to Mann's past success in the crime genre.

The plot is completely ordinary and doesn't offer up any unexpected twists and turns along the way. Because of this, the movie lacks intensity through much of the first and second acts, when everything that's happening is completely predictable.

However, pedestrian plot aside, the biggest disappointment was the manner in which the characters were developed. Both "Collateral" and "Heat" were notable for the way in which they delved deep into the psyche of the central characters, providing compelling personal drama to go along with the heists, hits and gunplay. But in "Miami Vice", we never really get to know the characters or their motivations beyond the surface level. And to make matters worse, Foxx and Farrell never develop the kind of rapport that's necessary to make a movie like this work on a high level. Compare Foxx and Farrell to Johnson and Thomas, or Gibson and Glover, and you'll see what I mean. Even though the "Miami Vice" movie aspires to be darker and grittier than "Lethal Weapon", which it is, it fails to be as dramatic because we never really come to care about the characters all that much. While there was clearly a conscious decision to downplay the "buddy" elements of the movie, the result is that Crockett and Tubbs seem so disconnected from each other on a personal level that it's hard to buy that they would die for each other, which we are expected to believe. The only relationship that is at all convincing or fleshed out is between Crockett and Isabella. The rest seem decidedly distant and undercooked.

What saves the film from being a bust is the visual splendor and great action sets. Mann once again proves that when it comes to creating a gritty atmosphere and staging shootouts, he's among the best in the business. When it comes to style, visuals, and atmosphere, "Miami Vice" is top notch.

In the end perhaps what hurt this movie most was studio deadlines and delays while shooting. It's been widely reported that Michael Mann had to feverishly edit this film just to get it into theaters on time, and in many ways that shows. There are multiple loose ends that are never tied up or explained, and several plot threads seem underdeveloped. I'm sure some day we will see a director's cut which approaches the 3 hour mark just like "Heat", and perhaps that version will overcome of the issues involving character development and plot holes in the theatrical version. Until then, "Miami Vice" is a movie that, while far from being a total failure, is none-the-less disappointing in that it had the potential to be a much more complete film than it is.