 | |
List Price: $26.98 | | Label: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
Salesrank: 48837
Released: December 5, 2006 |
| Our Price: $5.95 |
| Used Price: $2.50 |
|
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: HD DVD |
|
Editorial Review:
Universal Miami Vice - HD-DVD/DVD ComboJamie Foxx and Colin Farrell go deep undercover in the explosive, action-packed Unrated Director's Edition! When detectives Ricardo Tubbs (Foxx) and Sonny Crockett (Farrell) are asked to investigate the brutal murdersof two federal agents, they find themselves pulled into the lethal world of drug traffickers. From the acclaimed director of Heat and Collateral comes an exclusive motion picture experience you won'twant to miss!
Description of Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]:
Bearing absolutely no resemblance to the 1980s TV series that helped to propel Michael Mann into big-time filmmaking, Miami Vice is the kind of serious, and seriously stylish, crime drama that Mann does better than anyone else. As written by Mann himself, this undercover sting thriller doesn't reach the peak intensity of Mann's 1995 classic Heat, and it lacks the tight, nail-biting suspense of Collateral, but that doesn't mean it doesn't occasionally pack a wallop. As Miami detectives Sonny Crockett and Ricardo Tubbs (respectively), Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx don't have to do much but mumble their plot-thickening dialogue and look ultra-cool in the casual cop attire, and their partnership is rather lifeless on screen (perhaps owing to the fact that this was a troubled production, with an actual shooting that occurred during filming, and Foxx's refusal to risk his life on dangerous locations in South America). But once Mann shifts into high gear with a plot to foil a powerful drug kingpin (Luis Tosar) and his ruthless middle-man (John Ortiz), Vice pays off with the kind of smart, realistic action that Mann's fans have come to expect. With Chinese superstar Gong Li as Crockett's love interest on the wrong side of the law, Miami Vice covers territory that's a little too familiar, and one suspects Mann's screenplay might've been punched up with a polish or two. Still, this is an above-average crime thriller that demands and rewards close attention, with a climactic shoot-out that's pure Mann, worthy of the brooding drama that precedes it. --Jeff Shannon
Miami Vice (Unrated Director's Edition) (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] Reviews:
The jaws of the vice 
2009-10-02 - Michael Mann's "Miami Vice" is a dark and moody thriller which is only vaguely related to the TV show of the same name. Colin Farrell (Sonny) and Jamie Foxx (Rico) star in this exotic film which is filmed in a harsh grainy manner that accentuates the rough and seedy world depicted. As with "Collateral" this film was mostly filmed with a Thomson Viper Filmstream Camera with the rest filmed on Super 35mm.
Like other movies Mann has directed, such as "Heat" or "Collateral", we are dragged into the dark and dangerous places of the crime underworld. In "Miami Vice" we are taken from the bright beaches of Miami to deep within the heart of darkness of the South American drug world. I was impressed with the overall pace, and tone of this film. The movie oscillates between the wide bright expanses of the Miami coast during the day, and constricts into the narrow crowded shipyards, canals, and trailer parks at night. Like a boa constrictor this movie is constantly coiling and uncoiling as it snuffs out its victims one by one.
What is wrong with you people?
2009-09-28 - OK, I've read a lot of the lower-star reviews of this, and I'm completely floored by some of these comments. So please allow me to frame my review in the form of answering other people's opinions.
1. "It's called Miami Vice, but hardly anything happens in Miami." - It's called an international drug trade, people. That's why things take place in Haiti, Uruguay, Havana, Columbia, etc. These are the places that the drugs come from. In real life, the cops have to seek out these things at the source. Hell, if they were to just wait for this stuff to show up on American soil, they've lost half the battle.
2. "The action is boring and there's not enough of it." - Okay, it's not that it's boring, it's just shot and performed realistically. You people are so used to being spoon-fed flashy Hollywood action scenes, with jump-cut editing and unbelievably loud sound effects, that being confronted with an actual tactical gunfight, you don't know what to do. And as for there not being enough action, do you think undercover work is all shootouts?
3. "There's no chemistry between Farrell and Fox." - While they don't seem buddy-buddy, I think they have a realistic relationship. In their line of work, especially on the job, they have to be all business. Did you guys expect them to be cracking jokes and stealing each other's girlfriends? Along those lines, the number of people reviewing this that look back fondly on the "Bad Boys" movies physically disgusts me.
4. "It doesn't look like the show." - What the heck do you expect, pastels, pretty sunsets, and sailboats? Does it make you mad that Crockett's pet alligator doesn't make an appearance? The way I look at it, the original Miami Vice was Michael Mann's creation, so he can do whatever he wants with the film. The fact that he chose to make a movie that really digs into what guys like this do is refreshing, rather than putting on some glitzy "T&A and palm trees" spectacle.
5. "Gong Li looks horrible and her accent is bad." - First off, she is in her 40's. You don't have to look airbrushed at that age. Would you kick her out of bed? And as far as her accent, she speaks only Mandarin, so she had to learn all her lines phonetically, so give her a break!
6. People seem to have a problem with some of the terms the guys use. Listen, as hokey as it sounds, "go-fast boats" is actually a phrase people use to describe those watercraft. And as hokey as it may seem to hear things like "op sec" or "transpo", those are real terms used in this kind of work!
While people say they wish it looked like the show, I think what the real problem is that it doesn't look like that apex of bad television - "CSI: Miami". Here, there's no burnt-sienna skies, no cutaways to inexplicable helicopter shots of the Miami scenery or jump cuts to bikinis on the beach, no gaudily-lit police station shots. It actually looks like Miami, for chrissakes! I was sold on the look of this movie when Crockett walks out on to the balcony near the beginning and you see the amazing deep focus of the skyline and the night sky. The fact that this was shot on digital video enabled them to capture amazing things like the clouds. I mean, look at the boat race at the beginning - it's beautiful.
Now I won't say this is a problem-free film. I don't understand Tubb's overwrought concern for the prostitute in the club scene. And to me, John Ortiz's accent seems way to affected - it sounds like a white guy playing at being a Latino, even though John is hispanic. And yes, the fact that Colin and Gong Li's relationship is staring everyone in the face, and doesn't become an issue until later, is kinda dumb. And admittedly, a lot of inertia is lost in the middle when their relationship is being explored. But hey, every movie has problems.
Overall, this is a much subtler film than people expected. It's got a huge budget and it was a summer movie, so that fact that it went more for reality than glitz probably underwhelmed a lot of people. While it would rank it under "Heat" and "Collateral" in Michael Mann's ouvre, I still like it. And hey, any movie that stars Colin Farrell (who usually I can't stand and who I believe is one of the most egotistical actors ever), and is still watchable to me, has got to be quite an achievment!
Mann's Monument 
2009-09-17 - One of the most well-researched storylines in the genre, and a good experiment in new digital filmmaking technology. Fast-paced milestone capturing the high of going as far and as deep undercover as oxygen allows...
Movie
2009-09-10 - Purchased as a gift fot my hubby to add to his collection. Loved the movie.
Miami Vice
2009-06-13 - Good movie. Not like the show though with Don Johnson. However, I sincerely enjoyed the movie.
