Miami Vice

I didn’t like it. I can't help it, but as he gets older, quantity is beginning to outweigh quality in Michael Mann's work, and unfortunately this applies to Miami Vice. The desire for style and maximum effect has replaced the filmmaker's heart that made Heat, while the flat script and somewhat soulless characters make it impossible to tell a compelling story and build atmosphere, as was the case with Collateral. The only thing that holds the film together are the action scenes, the interesting music and Jamie Foxx, whose charisma this time leaves everyone else behind (and that's a shame). If it were any other director, I would give 2*, but with Mann I'll be happy to turn a blind eye one last time. (04/30/2013)

Bad Boys meets Collateral in Mann's most personal audiovisual fetish of his career to date. The film pumps atmosphere out of overshot testosterone (the perfectly flashy "look," the tough talk), only to then laboriously wring it out in adrenaline-fueled action that, while desperately scarce, is among the most thrilling Mann has made so far. The experiments with the digital medium are still questionable but he should be commended for his courage to use them in a purely mainstream matter for a general audience. Farrell and Foxx are a textbook example of a male friendship, but in terms of the personal lives of their great loves, the director could have put some more intimate words in their mouths, which are more important in such a moment than a formal debate in the form of amorous glances and sexual lust. Even so, it is a delicate spectacle, with a crime plot sufficient for an episode of a series presented in the form of the fluffiest cotton candy, which you quickly eat and only then realize that it was actually amounted to nothing. (10/14/2006)

Michael Mann is not among the directors that I actively seek out. His films have never been the ones that I felt compelled to watch, but I have heard a lot of praise for "Miami Vice". Additionally, Mann returned to a subject that he himself helped launch on television screens in the 80s. The series was cool, people started wearing what Don Johnson, alias James Crockett, and Philip Michael Thomas, alias Ricardo Tubbs, were wearing. The series became cult-like, and it still holds up today, just like the classics of the 70s and 80s. Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx are maybe even cooler than their predecessors, and their action scenes work really well. Unfortunately, action is the main focus of the film and the collaboration between the two main characters is not given enough importance. Humanity is somewhat pushed to the background, and everyone is just a pawn in this great action spectacle. The ending, which tries to be emotional and romantic, does not save it. The content had to give way to the form. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/04/jumper-babel-kung-fu-divocina-miami.html (02/17/2013)

An extraordinarily intelligently shot blockbuster that is brought down by a weak screenplay and ostentatious dithering outside the mainstream of traditional detective action. In my opinion, this is the second absolute biggest advantage of the film – I can think whatever I want about the handheld camera, but it is justified in the service of Michael Mann. The atmosphere cuts and nice edge with its rawness and the great musical undertone gives it a modern tempo. The screenplay, unfortunately, is inexcusable. Too little room for character profiling, a boring story structure and no twists – even the excellent Mann can't bring tension and spark to Miami Vice. But just when you think that primarily effects are expected of a film with a budget of 135 million dollars, this authentic story about two guys on the edge of the law becomes a lot of fun. Not as an action movie, but as a raw psychological drama without loops and phrases. I give it a weaker five stars. (06/30/2009)

The psychology that is such an integral part of Mann’s masterpiece Heat is unfortunately lacking in Miami Vice, though for understandable reasons. This is a summer movie, after all. With the exception of a few dialogue gems, the screenplay is just a run-of-the-mill crime thriller and the film’s dynamics don’t even come close to living up to the promise of the high-octane trailer. However, maestro Michael Mann managed to turn such shit into a flick with a few memorable highlights. For me, those are Colin Farrell and Li Gong’s first ride together in a speedboat with Moby providing the musical accompaniment, Mann’s traditional, inimitable tactical and realistic approach to action and the poetics of the ending, from which no one emerges as a clear winner. (08/17/2006)