SYNOPSIS:
Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett are both working undercover
in the heat of Florida, penetrating the dark, dollar-fuelled
abyss of the drugs world.
But as the temperature soars in Miami, Sonny gets romantically
involved with Isabella, the wife of an arms and guns trafficker.
Crockett and Tubbs are gradually pushed to the edge and suddenly
the distinction between cops and player becomes dangerously
blurred.
MOVIE REVIEW :
Nobody
likes “Miami Vice” when it was released in the
theaters, not the audience and not even the critics has a
penchant for it too.
So
what’s wrong with this Michael Mann’s crafted
crime thriller? Shot in HD and filled with hand-held shots
to enhance the realism on the whole, “Miami Vice”
has the look, feel and even breath liked those reality TV
programs. Perhaps of this factor, audience is being ironically
left out instead of being allure to it. We are so used to
the notion of watching movies, however to spend 132 minutes
“in” a movie is simply sacrilegious.
Chemistry
issue aside, no doubt the idea of pairing up Jamie Foxx and
bad boy Colin Farrell is cool. But way too cool at times makes
them appear aloof, distance. Yes they are bad boys with a
bad attitude equipped with bad guns and a nice cool Ferrari
but they are no match as compared to say, the wacky bad boys,
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.
Supposedly
based on the original, cheesy television series of the same
name and produced by Mann in the early 80’s, the movie
version takes Ricardo Tubbs and Sonny Crockett undercover
to penetrate the world of a massive drug-lord. One of Asia’s
most veteran and voluptuous actress, Gong Li appears here
as the wife of the drug-lord. A role that requires little
of Mrs Gong’s renowned acting strength but goes to prove
that she can sizzle and fizzle the screen with the much younger
Colin Farrell minus the awkwardness.
This
time round, it’s more of a miss than hits for Michael
Mann who helmed the excellent “Collateral”. A
strong visual experience on the whole but the less than captivating
plotting and uneven pacing makes this a vice to pick it up.
SPECIAL
FEATURES :
There's no deleted scenes or commentary track here,
just two short featurettes and a MTV in this edition.
Miami and Beyond: Shooting on Location - A 10 minutes
segment that brings you on-location with Michael Mann and
his crew. Kudos to Mann for having the courage to shot on-locations
rather than soundstages.
Miami
Vice Undercover - If you like "Crimewatch",
you might love this. Featuring interviews with real undercover
Miami cops and their frank feelings about their jobs.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
dolby digital 5.1 mix is excellent. Listen to the rounds being
pumped and get ready to dodge. The movie itself consists lots
of nightshots and in some parts, grainy and blurrish. Perhaps
it's due to the handheld shots or Mann's intention to give
it a sense of realism. Not the best disc to showoff to the
laymen however there's a certain raw beauty to it which a
certain group of audience might appreciate.
MOVIE
RATING:
 
DVD
RATING:
Review
by Linus Tee
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