Miami Vice

Original series creator Michael Mann has resurrected Miami Vice for the big screen. Unfortunately, for those of you who were fans of the original 1980s television hit, it arrived d.o.a. in theatres.


With a weak plot, & disjunct editing, the big screen Miami Vice falls short of Mann’s other screen hits such as Heat and Collateral.


Crockett, Tubbs, Trudy, the whole Miami Vice gang is there, but in name only. We are given no back-story on them; no idea of what makes them tick. If the movie isn’t supposed to be a literal remake of the television series, then the audience needs that kind of information. If the audience is supposed to be familiar enough with the television series that they know who the characters are, then the movie has to stay somewhat true to the television show. Neither one of these points are sufficiently satisfied.


Honestly, I’m not sure if Mann even wrote an original script. If you can get past the lousy transitions from scene to scene, act to act, you will notice that Miami Vice is really just bits and pieces of the original television series. The main plot, along with Trudy being held hostage in a trailer, surrounded by explosives is episode 15 from season one of the television show. It was called “Smuggler’s Blues” and guest starred Glen Fry. The shootout at the end of the film is a mixture of the first episode, “Brother’s Keeper” and, “Calderone’s Return” a couple of episodes down the line.


If you are a big Colin Farrell fan, not much of a Jamie Foxx fan (since he’s barely in it), and just can’t wait for the movie to be released on DVD, go ahead and hit the theatre. If you were a real fan of the television series, you can get the original version of the Miami Vice movie plot from seasons one and two already out on DVD

On a scale of 1 to 5, I give it a one. It’s 2 hours and 15 minutes that I’ll never get back.


- Steve Blanchard