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The Official MIAMI VICE Discussion

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It almost hurts me to admit it, but Miami Vice failed to grab in the same way as Mann's sister films Heat and Collateral. Not to say I didn't enjoy some scenes or the presentation (the cinematography was ORGASMIC and the music, once again, is top-notch). But the heart just wasn't there, or at least I couldn't see it :/


Maybe I need to sleep on it, but right now I'm still kind of "iffy" on the film...

EDIT -- And holy hell did I have a tough time deciphering Gong Li's thick accented babble :(
 
FoneBone said:
I really wanted to like this, but it just didn't work for me. Didn't help that so much of the dialogue was unintelligible.
Click to expand...
I got about five, maybe six words out of Gong Li's character. The rest was straight noise...
 
I agree with shake for the most part, except I thought the music sucked. There are some terrible transitions in some scenes that just throw you off (the Havana club > Colin and Gong Li getting it on and then them looking for the girl in the trailer park with the helicopter).

The visuals are gorgeous though, and the gunplay is so damn realistic (those .50cal sniper shots in the car, wow.) that I want to forgive the film for lacking a tight plot or any sense of charm in the characters, but I just can't.

Oh, and the ending was pretty bad. Does anyone know what the original ending was going to be?
 
Oh noes! The Shakester has abandoned us, turn in your jackets! Too bad you didnt dig it, Shake. Personally I thought it was just 'good' until I slept on it, now I pretty much love it. Maybe you will feel the same, who knows.
 
That was EASILY the worst movie of the summer, and maybe year. TOTAL SNOOZEFEST.

NOTHING happens from scene 2 to the end. Some nice headshots, but wow. Can a movie get any worse?

I saw 2 couples and a group of guys leaving 3/4 into the movie, and we were thinking about doing the same. We stayed for the gun fight but it was nothing crazy. Dont you love when the camera shakes for absolutely no reason at all? and is there only to frustrate the viewer? Ridley Scott knows how to do the shaky cam, Mann does not.

Not worth rental.

2/10 for nice cars and nice mansions.

Also didnt anyone find that it kinda promotes organized crime? and colin farrel cant act.

Edit: X3 was the worst movie.
 
I know Mann makes a very deliberately-paced crime movie, but whereas I found the plot or characters interesting enough to think it warranted the length in movies like Heat or Collateral, Miami Vice just really felt like a needless ass-blaster at times. Too many near-pornographic shots of boats, night clubs, mansions, etc and too few interesting things occurring with them. That said, the gunplay in this movie is quite possibly the best I have ever seen and while I may have been dozing towards the end of the movie, the whole two final battles had me shooting "Jesu-DAMN!" pretty often. It's a shame more of the movie didn't invoke that in me.
 
Wow. I dont even know how to reply to that "review" (GuessWho's).

Oh, and its Tony Scott who employs the shakey cam, not Ridley. And no, he does not "know how to do it", its almost vomit inducing and ruined at least 2 films.

Anyways, blah.
 
Solo said:
Wow. I dont even know how to reply to that "review" (GuessWho's).

Oh, and its Tony Scott who employs the shakey cam, not Ridley. And no, he does not "know how to do it", its almost vomit inducing and ruined at least 2 films.

Anyways, blah.
Click to expand...

That review was based on dissapointment. Anyways about tony/ridley...tony is shit with the shaky cam, i should of said ridley does it right - see Black Hawk Down.
 
I just meant that you didn't give any reasons aside from "nothing happened", that's all. It's fine to hate the movie, but I couldn't find your reasons.
 
bad acting, horrible plot, characters i seriously didn't care for, cliched, misuse of shaky cam (although the gunfire was amazing), horrible dialogue, I don't know if I was watching a movie or mtv cribs.
 
GuessWho said:
bad acting, horrible plot, characters i seriously didn't care for, cliched, misuse of shaky cam (although the gunfire was amazing), horrible dialogue, I don't know if I was watching a movie or mtv cribs.
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And I don't know if we were watching the same movie. There was a definate lack of character development, some muddled dialogue, and the writing was far from perfect, and the thing needed to be edited down by about 20 minutes. But cliche'd, badly acted and poorly shot? I cannot agree with any of those. Ah well.
 
Solo said:
And I don't know if we were watching the same movie. There was a definate lack of character development, some muddled dialogue, and the writing was far from perfect, and the thing needed to be edited down by about 20 minutes. But cliche'd, badly acted and poorly shot? I cannot agree with any of those. Ah well.
Click to expand...

And yet you still love it? Either your standards are compromised by your Mann-love or the cinematography must be frickin' brilliant.
 
Solo said:
But cliche'd, badly acted and poorly shot? I cannot agree with any of those. Ah well.
Click to expand...

I thought the acting in the first club scene (the intro) was horrendous. Colin's line delivery seemed really off to me for some reason, like it was too stunted and didn't flow naturally like you would be talking to someone. Oddly enough, those problems seem to disappear (for the most part) during the rest of the film so I can't fault it much for that, but it was there.
 
I thought this movie kicked ass and it will definitely be purchased on DVD. You really shouldn't need a lot of plain beaten-down character development to understand the relationship between Foxx and Farrel. It was like someone said earlier: It's the little things they do that show their relationship being tight.

I thought that the way it was shot, it all just seemed so real. I think the best description I heard is when they said that this is an artistic action flick. The intensity is sublime... nothing over the top but good at keeping you involved throughout most of the flick.

And Foxx with the M203 attatched to his rifle? **** yes!
 
Oh yeah. I've also decided from this movie that one day I want to own a boat like those. Preferrably one of those GoFast boats or whatever... but yeah. I need to own a boat. Looks like I won't be living on a teachers salary for awhile :lol
 
NBC Universal, said almost two-thirds of the audience was aged 30 and older, and exit polling indicated that Foxx was the main draw.

If the estimate holds, it would rank as Mann's No. 1 opening, surpassing the $24.7 million debut of his 2004 film "Collateral," also starring Foxx.
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2/3 of the audience 30 and older. A bit suprised it skews that dramtically age-group wise.
 
Solo said:
Oh noes! The Shakester has abandoned us, turn in your jackets! Too bad you didnt dig it, Shake. Personally I thought it was just 'good' until I slept on it, now I pretty much love it. Maybe you will feel the same, who knows.
Click to expand...
DON'T YOU TELL ME TO STOP!
YOU STICK AROUND I MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE!
NUMBERS BEYOND WHAT YOU CAN DOUBT!
FINGERS BEAT NUMBERS SO VER-SIT-AL!
 
I came across this article on the challenges of shooting Miami Vice in HD with digital cameras. Michael Mann and Dion Beebe (he won an oscar for Memoirs of a Geisha and also worked with Mann on Collateral), spent 4 1/2 months testing cameras

Unlike Collateral which had a soft look, they were going for a chiaroscuro effect. Chiaroscuro is an art technique pioneered by Leonardo Da Vinci. Chiaroscuro which is Italian for "lightdark" means a bold contrast between light and dark.

Vice' and virtues of HD
High-definition video exerts its taxing appeal on a film's makers.
By Susan King, Times Staff Writer
July 27, 2006


"MIAMI VICE" director Michael Mann and his director of photography, Dion Beebe, knew the challenges they'd be facing when they decided to shoot the feature version of the classic 1980s TV series on high-definition video.

Two years ago, Mann and Beebe used high def to shoot "Collateral," which gave the action-thriller set in nighttime Los Angeles a distinctly visceral look. Beebe and co-cinematographer Paul Cameron received an Oscar nomination for their work on that film

Before the HD cameras rolled in Miami last year, Mann, Beebe and the technical staff spent months in pre-production.

"There's been a lot of debate about high def replacing film and being an easier choice for filmmakers," said the Australian-born cinematographer, who won the Oscar this year for "Memoirs of a Geisha." "But it's definitely not the easy choice."

The high def cameras used in the film weren't made for action-thrillers. "They were designed to be in air-conditioned TV studios mounted on these pedestal tripods run through some sort of control panels," Beebe explained. "The cameras all run off these two recording decks, and you are running cable to recording decks and dealing with heat and moisture. You need a lot of battery power not just to run your cameras, but to run your decks."

Film cameras, he said, are much more robust and can be specifically modified for scenes in speedboats or fast cars. "But these cameras aren't. You have to be determined to see it through. There were often times when we thought it would be easier for us to shoot on film, but we had come down this path and we had done a lot of testing."

So why bother? Several reasons. One is that high-definition cameras allow the image to be manipulated right on the set.

"It's like your television set," Mann said. "You can alter contrast, alter brightness." To be able to adjust those artistic variables while you are shooting "makes it into a much more painterly medium than simply recording on film," he said. "We alter things all the time."

"It's a whole new ballgame for filmmakers to have that ability [to adjust] right in front of you," Beebe agreed.

The high-definition cameras also offer an incredible depth of field, especially at night. One can almost sense the humidity and the highly charged atmosphere of nighttime Miami because the cameras capture the billowy clouds, lightning and the lights of the city.

"You wouldn't be seeing any of those lights beyond [the actors] with a normal focal length lens," Mann said. "It would all be out-of-focus dots."

Lighting with HD can be tricky. "When you light with HD, it's sort of like playing a new instrument for us cinematographers," Beebe said. "You have got to get in tune with it and really work its strengths and weaknesses."

They'd already had experience with the technology on "Collateral," but even so, Mann and Beebe spent 4 1/2 months testing the cameras in Miami in conditions similar to what they expected during production of "Miami Vice."

"We shot tests at night, out at sea with helicopters and big boats and freighters," Beebe said. "They were bigger shoot days than I ever had on a feature in Australia — and it was just a test shoot. But the reason was to put ourselves in these situations and ensure we were going to get the results we wanted — securing cameras, [determining] how we were going to power them and cable them and [experimenting with] the settings we were going to choose for them."



AFTER the test footage was shot, Mann and Beebe took it to digital colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld to help devise a formula "for how we were going to use the high definition — how we are going to light it and shoot it," Mann said.

"Miami Vice" was lighted differently than "Collateral." The latter had a "non-directional light" for a softer look, Beebe said. With "Vice," they wanted more of a chiaroscuro-type lighting. "With the shootout at the end, we used these big, hard lights and set out to create a single hard sidelight for the sequence," the cinematographer said. "The problem is maintaining [the lighting] through the sequence because people are moving around and you are changing directions."

Also daunting to film was a scene in which Miami undercover police detective Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell) takes the beautiful, mysterious Isabella (Gong Li) for a high-speed cruise in a motorboat. The vehicle had to be custom-built. "We needed to run cables through the boat to the cameras," Beebe said. And casings for the recording decks were created so that they could be strapped in the hull of the boat and withstand the impact of the waves.

"Once you take the recording deck off the camera, you can break the camera down to a very small camera," Beebe said, "and we were able to fit the camera with an operator, myself and Michael as well as Gong and Colin and head off at 70 mph across the ocean. It was quite a spectacle to see everyone crammed in the boat."

Although he has now made his last two pictures in high definition, Mann says he hasn't abandoned film. "I could very well do a movie I prefer to shoot on film," he said. "Shooting on film is simpler."
Click to expand...

http://www.latimes.com/entertainmen...ry?coll=la-headlines-entnews&track=crosspromo
 
I loved it! Don't get me wrong, it was a very flawed movie but still totally enjoyable (to me).

I don't know if this has already been said, but I think people going into this movie expecting collateral or heat went in looking for the wrong movie.

Miami Vice, in the 80's, was about easy come easy go. It was about fast money, fast cars, fast boats, beautiful but easy women, drugs, and a major overdose of cool. The TV show was like a drug high, it'll make you smile and laugh for a while but it ultimately gives you no substance.

I never walked away from a miami vice TV episode, and I watched them all, thinking "Wow! What a great plot! What engaging characters!"

The show and the concept was always about style over substance. If you expect more then you'll likely be dissapoined. I didn't and I loved it!
 
Just came back from the movie.

While VICE is definitely not in the same league as COLLATERAL or HEAT, it is definitely shot in the same vein as those movies. The gunfights are spectacular (a nod to the excellence of HEAT) and the cinematography is gorgeous. The colors literally explode from the screen in near-pixel perfect excellence. The plot is probably the weakest part of the entire movie with many unanswered questions. Acting was top-notch and I really enjoyed Farrell's role in this movie. Never saw the original VICE, but this VICE is definitely the movie I wanted to see from Mann.

I give it a 7/10.

Spectacular gunfights (I know it has been done to death, but this is really the best part of the movie), amazing attention to detail, eye-popping orgasmic cinematography and a solid action movie overall. All that, plus
the main villain gets away
makes VICE a worthwhile ride.
 
master_shake_05 said:
It almost hurts me to admit it, but Miami Vice failed to grab in the same way as Mann's sister films Heat and Collateral. Not to say I didn't enjoy some scenes or the presentation (the cinematography was ORGASMIC and the music, once again, is top-notch). But the heart just wasn't there, or at least I couldn't see it :/


Maybe I need to sleep on it, but right now I'm still kind of "iffy" on the film...

EDIT -- And holy hell did I have a tough time deciphering Gong Li's thick accented babble :(
Click to expand...



DIE
 
I think they needed to spend more time on the main characters and their relationship. The script and plot and characters are definitely no where close to Heat or Collateral.

Also they should've cast Kelly Hu instead of Gong Li.

But I think it will be seen as a landmark film because of the cinemotopgraphy. I think it's really the first film shot on HD that really shows what HD can do, particularily for night scenes. It is worth seeing for the cinemotography and some of gun fights alone.
 
Ichirou_Oogami said:
And yet you still love it? Either your standards are compromised by your Mann-love or the cinematography must be frickin' brilliant.
Click to expand...

Hardly. It succeeds much more than it fails, and I definately feel that while its flawed, its one hell of a wacky flawed masterpiece. And I personally had NO qualms about the acting, and thought it was uniformly great. Colin Farrell especially stood out for me.

And the cinematography is frickin' brilliant. Academy Award get!

soundwave05 said:
But I think it will be seen as a landmark film because of the cinemotopgraphy. I think it's really the first film shot on HD that really shows what HD can do, particularily for night scenes. It is worth seeing for the cinemotography and some of gun fights alone.
Click to expand...

True that. Collateral got the foot in the HD door, but didn't fully blow the hinges off (and about 20% of it was still shot on film). Vice is the natural progession of Collateral. If this movie can't get more directors jumping on board with HD cameras, I dont see what will. Gorgeous throughout.
 
Both Miami Vice and Lady in the Water are very flawed films ... yet I can't say I regret seeing either of them. They both had thier good aspects.

Miami Vice needed more of a story/character work to compliment its visuals.

Lady in the Water needed its story (esp. all the exposition) to be pared down and refocused a bit. But they're both refreshing in that they're not very formulaic. They are what they are and they don't make any apologies about it.
 
True that. Vice is about as artsy and experimental as you can get for what's supposed to be a summer popcorn actioner. Probably the reason the box office intake is so underwhelming. Moviegoers at large seem to want their summer flicks to stay "in the box", so to speak.
 
Well I finally saw Miami Vice, and I enjoyed it. The movie isn't something that's easy to digest however. It's a dark and gritty look at cops doing undercover work, and the dangerous ground they walk on. The vast majority of the conflict is psychological, with very little physical turmoil.
 
Well I finally saw Miami Vice, and I enjoyed it. The movie isn't something that's easy to digest however. It's a dark and gritty look at cops doing undercover work, and the dangerous ground they walk on. The vast majority of the conflict is psychological, with very little physical turmoil.
 
This movie was completely waisted with an absolutely pathetic script for Sonny and Rico and not to mention they had to pick Collin Farrell. Man did he ever stink up the whole movie. I kept asking myself if this movie was some kind of hollywood inside joke. Some truly beautiful locations. The camera work is most of the time excellent though sometimes you get this jittery kind of shot that makes you snap out of the scene.

Collin Farrel and the shitty scrip ruined the movie. All the supporting actors except for the asian girl rocked.
 
Quite possibly the worst film i've seen at the cinema. Complete and utter bollocks. Joke script and acting and BooOOooring!!! No redeeming qualities at all. I want my £6.20 back
 
"You must not see a lot of movies then."

I loved this movie. I left the theatre thoroughly entertained. The movie kicked all sorts of ass. My only question is, where in the hell did
Sonny pull that grenade from when they were trying to get in on the business.
Its like he pulled it out of his ass.
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
"You must not see a lot of movies then."

I loved this movie. I left the theatre thoroughly entertained. The movie kicked all sorts of ass. My only question is, where in the hell did
Sonny pull that grenade from when they were trying to get in on the business.
Its like he pulled it out of his ass.
Click to expand...

he didn't pull it out, it was thrown to him by Zito
 
Oldschoolgamer said:
Thank you. I blinked and missed it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it happens really fast.


One thing that happened that I'm not sure about is

when they take off in the plane and do the two planes become one radar trick, that other person flying the plane is Zito. I think Sunny says something to the effect of "we are ready for fly behind" and the next thing you see is them take position behind Zito's plane. I'm not 100% sure about this


I posted this in a different thread, but I'll repost it here. Some of my thoughts on the themes that the Miami Vice movie has.

The theme of duality is very present in the movie. Obviously Crockett
and Tubbs are undercover cops so to a certain extent it's naturally
sewn into the fabric of the films story.

When Crockett and Isabella are in the bathroom after making love,
you see Isabella staring at Crockett by looking at the mirror and
see the reflection of Crocketts face as they have a conversation. He is
really in love with Isabella, but at the same time doing his job by
trying to set up a more extensive drug dealing releationship. The
mirror is an analogy of whats happening in Crocketts life.

How at the end of the movie you have the duality of "love lost vs
love regained", by having Trudy in the Hospital coming out of a coma
and touching Tubbs hand. While at the same time you have Crockett losing
love as Isabella gets into a boat and sails away.

The contrast between "Death vs Life" by juxtaposing Montoyas Drug Lord home, and the Miami hospital. Montoyas home was where decisions were made to sell drugs and smuggle weapons that ruin lives. The Miami Hospital is filled with people that work to save and preserve life. The final time we are shown Montoyas home it is vacant and empty. The final scene in the movie we are shown Crokett walking into the hospital where his friends are, where life is. I thought this was very clever.

The way water flowed. In Miami Crockett would look out and see a the vast expanse of ocean water. Near Montoyas home a giant water fall with water crashing down with lots of turbulence.

Surveilance VS Instincts

Yero after receiving the data module containing the background history of
Crockett and Tubbs, wants to meet them first hand to see what they're
really made of. He trusts his insticnts first.

Throught the entire movie despite Yero being an expert on getting
information, he always believed in his instincts.
 
Ok, lets go back...

Jaime Foxx's ass cheeks = 10sec

Shower Scenes = 10min

Gun Scenes = 4min

Yea..this movie was garbage. But Solo enjoyed it. THis movie was a goddamn joke. They tried to hard for the serious roll and failed, might as well made this a comedy.
 
Brimstone said:
Yeah, it happens really fast.


One thing that happened that I'm not sure about is

when they take off in the plane and do the two planes become one radar trick, that other person flying the plane is Zito. I think Sunny says something to the effect of "we are ready for fly behind" and the next thing you see is them take position behind Zito's plane. I'm not 100% sure about this
Click to expand...

I'm not sure about who was flying (you are more than likely right), but, they did in fact fly behind the other plane. Right behind it.
 
DaddyZ said:
Ok, lets go back...

Jaime Foxx's ass cheeks = 10sec

Shower Scenes = 10min

Gun Scenes = 4min

Yea..this movie was garbage. But Solo enjoyed it. THis movie was a goddamn joke. They tried to hard for the serious roll and failed, might as well made this a comedy.
Click to expand...


The movie has 3 gun firefight scenes. They are done in a very plausible way. If Crockett and Tubbs were going around firing their guns in a blaze of glory all the time, they wouldn't be effective undercover cops.


The shower sequence with Isabella (Gong Li) and Crockette was one of the most important scenes in the entire movie. It highlighted the dilema Crockette was in on a personal level. And the way Mann filmed it was meant to convey this. At least thats my humble opinion on what Mann was trying to communicate.
 
DaddyZ said:
Ok, lets go back...

Jaime Foxx's ass cheeks = 10sec

Shower Scenes = 10min

Gun Scenes = 4min

Yea..this movie was garbage. But Solo enjoyed it. THis movie was a goddamn joke. They tried to hard for the serious roll and failed, might as well made this a comedy.
Click to expand...

First off all, glad to see you were timing all this. You need to stick to Bay/Bruckheimer movies, I think. They have the EPM ratio nice and high for you.

Second, why in the hell am I being named here? Is it because I asked you why you were too lazy to resize your own avatar? There are many in this thread that indeed enjoyed the movie, and I am but one of them. It's not as if I was the only one.
 
I can understand people not like liking a movie or book. At one time I thought Stephen King was one of the worst writers, and I couldn't understand why he was so popular. Then many years later I tried reading some Stephen King again, and I really enjoyed it.

Anyway, for me I thought the script was really good. Excellent plot.

Yero, one of the most intelligent and believable villians I've seen in a crime movie in quite some time.
 
I really liked Miami Vice, as with most Mann films, I need to soak it up for a while after I have seen it. I was not sure what to make of Collateral after I saw it in theaters, but now it's one of my favorite films. Don't get me wrong, Miami Vice is Mann's weakest film in a while, but I love his cinematography and the feel of the movie, I also enjoyed the soundtrack, which can make or break a movie for me. In the end I will probably get this when it comes to DVD.
 
Variable said:
I really liked Miami Vice, as with most Mann films, I need to soak it up for a while after I have seen it. I was not sure what to make of Collateral after I saw it in theaters, but now it's one of my favorite films. Don't get me wrong, Miami Vice is Mann's weakest film in a while, but I love his cinematography and the feel of the movie, I also enjoyed the soundtrack, which can make or break a movie for me. In the end I will probably get this when it comes to DVD.
Click to expand...


When it comes to DVD, I'm hoping we get a directors cut like "Kingdom of Heaven" recieved. I've read that 40 minutes of footage got cut. About 15 minutes of that is the big boat race scene.

Another highlight will be hearing Mann's director commentary.
 
Honest truth... It is the first movie I have ever walked out on, and then demanded my money back... No joke. That movie was the worst. I got my 7.50 back, so I don't feel so bad.
 
vas_a_morir said:
Honest truth... It is the first movie I have ever walked out on, and then demanded my money back... No joke. That movie was the worst. I got my 7.50 back, so I don't feel so bad.
Click to expand...

Smh
 
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