Miami Vice [DVD] (2006) Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Gong Li, John Murphy

This is an outstanding movie, regardless of whether it's a remake, or resources original material, or is related to the 1980s tv show in any way. Michael Mann is an outstanding director fusing European art tradition with a blue collar contemporary command of thriller making. This is a very literate film and many of the reviews on Amazon are obviously by people unable to digest the attention to detail that went into this film.

The film is carefully textured, shot and constructed. The characters speak through performance and the subtleties of dialogue rather than simplistic action.

This is a film for anyone who wants to be enveloped in a three dimensional world of contemporary Miami told through the excitement and energy of crime and people who live outside normal rules (the feature that unites both the cops and the villains).

See it and be prepared to be carried beyond normal thriller story telling.

I am not a big fan of TV.
So the TV series passed me by, although I believe it has quite a following, so I approached this movie on the strength of Mr. Mann's previous work - an impeccible portfolio.
Whatever, however, Iunderstand this work has nothing to do with the TV series, other than it's title, location, the names of the two lead characters and Michael Mann's history.
Now,I believe that this movie would have fared much, much better at the box office and with its critics if it had gone out under a different banner - title.
Released, unburdened from expectation, untainted by nostalgia, free of cult following of the small screen.
However, whatever, I can't tell you how much I have enjoyed this movie, it improves with each repeat viewing and I watch over and over.
For me there is nothing that galls.
The plot, sub-plots and chapters are seamless.
The editing, screenplay, dialogue and cinematography are flawless the acting superb.
Farrell and Foxx make their roles - a kind of professionally attached emotionally detatched partnership - and Gong Li and John Ortiz are simply outstanding.
A graphic movie, dark, brooding,- with suspense and violence underscoring every scene.
Hard-boiled, brutal and breath-taking.
You can feel the rank heat and humidity.
Now I am probably going aggravate some readers - curl their toes, having them scream 'NO!NO!NO!' but for me this movie is right up there with 'Heat' and 'Collateral'.
This is a film of true quality - one of the best.
This is big screen entertainment.
The soundtrack, too, is compiled with the same deft touch,consumate skill as the movie - and is dank and dirty.
It rocks.
I am on my fourth copy - I've given three different friends on seperate occassions one each - because on listening they've asked - demanded a copy.
It's addictive - with or without the movie.
Both soundtrack and movie are an absolute delight.

Having just watched this film, I was about to check myself into a retirement home for the cinematically confused, when I read with relief the reviews set out below.
For the first 30 minutes I had not the faintest idea what was going on. I also wondered whether my hearing was packing up. Typical dialogue sounds like:

"Mmmf n wah fr dhn blog?"
"Nnh. Shah n dorrh na bnng"

It got a bit better if I listened through headphones, pressing the speakers to my ears.

A plot of sorts emerged later on in the film, not that it amounted to much, but it did make the inaudibility of the dialogue less significant. The main attractions are the steely, moody photography and the sense of tragic inevitablilty, remeniscent of the closing scenes of 'Heat'.