There were several expectations forMiami Vicewhen it was announced that a movie remake was slotted for release in 2006. For Gen-Xers who grew up with theseminal television series of the 1980s, there were expectations of bright, sea-foam-colored tees underneath sports coats with rolled-up sleeves, big cash for drug swaps, and an abundance of the art deco architectural style that defines the exotic South Florida locale. Millennials sawColin FarrellandJamie Foxxtapped to play the iconic duo of Sonny Crockett and Rico Tubbs and expected a high-octane, big-budgeted shoot ‘em-up style thrillerthat would be more in line with theBad Boysfilms that preceded it.
Though there was a little bit of both of these elements in the remake, there was one ingredient that a lot of people overlooked that would end up being the driving force behind the underrated remake:the man calling the shots behind the camera. WhenMichael Mannagreed to direct the project, audiences should have been on high alert that the remakewould have his signature style all over it.
‘Miami Vice’ Attacked Preconceived Notions From the Start
Dealing with the preconceived notions of both critics and audiences can either work in favor of a remake or against it. When you’re talking about a remake of something as culturally significant and prominent as the long-running series on NBC, it worked againstMiami Vice. More than 15 years had passed since the television series’ final episode aired in January 1990 – but that didn’t matter to Mann. He was going to attack the source material and give it a spin that would be consistent with all the successful Michael Mann films that came before it –Heat,Last of the Mohicans, Collateral.
From the very opening sequence, where Crockett and Tubbs are tailing a suspected human trafficking suspect through a posh Miami nightclub,we know immediately that we are in for a unique experience. Mann was still going to use gritty, hardscrabble characters. Still, it is evident that he really wanted to pick up the tempo of both the musical score (gone wasJan Hammer’s synth-heavy opening theme song) and the cinematography. With faster panning and more focused framing,Mann used his cameras to quicken the tempo and, by extension, ratchet up the film’s overall tone. It’s a signature technique of Mann’s, which he uses with great aplomb here.
‘Miami Vice’ Gives Us Epic Aerial Cinematography
One of the things that was criminally overlooked in Mann’s (who also served as chief producer on the film) remake washis masterful aerial photography of both the beautiful Miami night skylines and the naturally exotic ocean scapes surrounding the south Florida peninsula. Stunning panoramic views of night fallen on a resplendent downtown Miami highlight the night shoots while captivating elevated shots of contoured speedboats cutting through the crystal blue waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf waters accentuate the deft and crisp cinematography. These are qualities that were largely overlooked or ignored by critics and fans alike but are a very large part of what Mann and his principal cinematographer,Dion Beebe, brought to the film that other directors would have either ignored or not fought for when negotiating a$136 million budget with Universal Pictures. It is obvious withMiami Vice, in particular, that moviegoers were willing to ignore that each Michael Mann film is a piece of art unique unto itself and the backdrops are the tapestries upon which he works.
‘Miami Vice’s Multidimensional Characters Reel You In
Since Miami Vice’s release in 2006, both of its leads, Colin Ferrell and Jamie Foxx, have gone on to solidify themselves as multifaceted and dynamic performers. If you’ve seen 2022’sBanshees of Inesherin,the tour-de-force performance in HBO’sThe Penguinin 2024 (which should garner Farrell an Emmy Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series), or Foxx’s Oscar-winning turn inRay,you’re familiar with these two actors’ range. Both deliver nuanced performances inMiami Vicethat, over a running time of 135 minutes, leave you fully invested in their character arcs. Through their personal and professional relationships, it’s the unspoken bond between the two vice cops that stands out.In dealing with an assortment of very dangerous and unpredictable drug dealers, each has an awareness of what the other is thinking. Having a sixth sense when covering each other’s backs in perilous situations is imperative, especially when working undercover, where even the slightest slip-up can result in a quick and unceremonious death. Not to be overlooked,Ciaran HindsandNaomie Harrisbuttress the two leads with terrific performances of their own.
‘Miami Vice’ Has an International Flavor That Works
Shooting in the Caribbean, Uruguay, Paraguay, and South Florida, the cast ofMiami Viceis made up of a wide array of people from a bevy of different countries. Sonny Crockett’s love interest in the film, Isabella (Gong Li), is a brilliant Chinese Cuban money manager and has a significant supporting role in the film.Luis Tosar, a native of Spain, is formidable as the vile and menacing drug lord Montoya, who works well among an international cast to provide a believable network of smugglers working to get massive amounts of cocaine into the states via South Florida. It’s also not a coincidence that, of the film’s almost $165 million gross, more than $100 million came from outside the United States as several countries are represented in the international thriller.
Michael Mann’s First Movie Is Finally Coming to 4K Blu-Ray
“Tonight, his take home pay is $410,000…tax free.”
As we head into 2025, almost 20 years since the film’s release, streamers like Netflix and Prime Video can now introduceMiami Vicein reverse order, allowing for a worldwide audience to make their own decision about Mann’s vision andthen watch the long-running series that is currently streaming on Prime Video.It is the best way to avoid having an unrealistic and preconceived idea of what a theatrical release of the source material should look like.Every new film should have the right to stand on its own two legs without being compared to another project — particularly with one being an R-rated two-and-a-half-hour action thriller and the other being a PG version on NBC in the 1980s.
The Legacy of ‘Miami Vice’
Though the film was met with slightly negative reviews, we’re going to make the case thatMiami Viceis a misunderstood international crime epic that didn’t fail to deliver the goodsbut was met by a stubborn American audience that was expecting an amped-up, big-budgeted version of the enormously successful series from a bygone era. While we all lovedDon JohnsonandPhilip Michael Thomasas the OGs that rocked the white slacks and blazers over pastel-colored tees two decades earlier,it should not have been used as the standard-bearer for the follow-up film version. Michael Mann’s vision wanted to establish an identity of its own and ultimately did as much. But sometimes, the original version is too ensconced in our minds to leave room for a more well-rounded and artistic adaptation.
Suppose something is to be learned from the lackluster performance of a misunderstood film like this. In that case, it’s that projects need to be judged by their own merit and not as an offshoot of source material that is really only lending the characters and the art deco, sun-kissed South Florida backdrop.Mann, Ferrell, and Foxx have earned at least that much.
Miami Viceis available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
