Miami Vice

[Maddiemoo]

I haven't seen this, but I gotta admit, I'm tempted to just so I can see the pretty tiles.

[huntergrayson]

Miami Vice: The film secretly funded by Kohler Bathroom Remodeling Company. We're taking subliminal product placement to a whole new level!

[twodollars]

huntergrayson said:

Walking out, everyone in the theatre hated this movie and, well, general question here - what exactly did people (including you guys) want? Because I feel like if it had been a dumb, 80s, pastel Michael Bay remake, that would've been hated (hence the Worst Movie Ever predictions beforehand). But it obviously *wasn't* that, but hated anyway. I mean, the action was well-choreographed but there was more to it than that. I do understand that there was NO exposition and everyone was depressed and world-weary beyond belief - which, yes, maybe a mistake in a summer movie, perhaps, but not unexpected for a Michael Mann film. And hi, if Batman Begins can brood its way through 120 minutes, so can this.

I didn't need it to be set in the '80s or have tons of color. But, it needed to have an actual plot (not the watered down Bad Boys 2 plot we got), decent acting, and even a little bit of wit. I like Mann's films, but this was just so painfully dull from start to finish. It was so bad that a lot of people walked out mid-movie. That's a sign the movie sucks IMO.

[Binky]

But, it needed to have an actual plot (not the watered down Bad Boys 2 plot we got), decent acting, and even a little bit of wit.

Yeah. And I needed to have characters who didn't appear to be bored out of their minds. Depressed is fine. World weary, fine. So bored that a frickin' drug war doesn't even interest them, no.

[Deleted]

What was missing most for me was the buddy aspect of the movie. You got no sense at all that these guys were actually friends, no idea if they even liked each other at all. There was no real camaraderie there and I missed that.

And when the most entertaining aspect of a movie is the crying baby in the theater and the mother's argument with some dude complaining about the crying baby (the highlight of which was "You're a bad mother!"), you know the movie sucks.

[pennygwoods]

Actually, roisin4...I'd like to know how that argument ended! Unlike this film. I mean, I saw the end but...eh, who cares?

[bklynred]

huntergrayson wrote:

No, her suits were fucking AMAZING. I'll bring in Stephanie Zacharek here: "During business hours, Isabella wears dark, narrow suits, so sharply tailored they look poised for takeoff, like a fighter jet; she gives the orders, and the underlings listen."

Seriously! And she barely had on any (noticeable) makeup--she didn't need any with the attitude and the power suits.

Now I'm softening on this movie. I definitely didn't see the jovial buddy bond I was expecting, but I didn't hate it. I think Jamie Foxx and Cruise had more of a connection in Collateral. I think the world weariness (or as I prefer to think, massive rum and mottled mint hangovers) definitely translated into boredom onscreen for them both.

[Deleted]

pennygwoods said:

Actually, roisin4...I'd like to know how that argument ended! Unlike this film. I mean, I saw the end but...eh, who cares?

I'm not really sure, they were on the other side of the theater and by the end of it we were all laughing at them too much to hear them. I didn't hear the baby cry for the rest of the movie though so I think she either got it to sleep or left. It was a pity though, I was hoping for more baby induced entertainment.

[tamaradixon]

I found it boring and other random thoughts:

I didn't care about these characters at all. We didn't get to know them. There wasn't enough dialogue. The film seemed to start in mid-scene, I almost thought there was a problem with the projector. The dialogue was muddled. Gong Li's accent was too pronounced and made her speech sound robotic. You could tell she was being fed lines by a translator. Ciaran Hinds, what a waste. The villain with the glasses, a bit of a hottie. The bathroom tiles...thanks everyone, that's all I was watching when that scene came on. All I could think was, you are all SO right! lol

[Deleted]

I finally saw this and I enjoyed it. I didn't really understand what was going on (and did have trouble understanding the gorgeous Gong Li) but the film looked amazing and had some awesome action sequences. I wish it had been sexier - both Foxx and Farrell looked HOT (I was surprised that Colin looked so sexy because he was bloated, had a pornstache and orange hair but he worked it!) as did Gong Li but the sex scenes just didn't do anything for me (the tile was hot, though!).

I think the serious tone of the film hurt it. I think in the summer people want fun movies and Miami Vice just isn't that fun. Add to that, the television show's fun, breezy, pastel reputation and you have some disappointed film goers. I think it would have been better received if it had been released in the fall or winter.

What was missing most for me was the buddy aspect of the movie. You got no sense at all that these guys were actually friends, no idea if they even liked each other at all. There was no real camaraderie there and I missed that.

I actually thought there were some nice moments between Foxx and Farrell. I thought they had a nice chemisty and I do wish that had been exploited more. The scene where the FBI guy wants them to end the job and Colin is all "Fuck you!", Foxx sort of shoots him this look and keeps looking at him as he says "I am with Crockett 100%" (or something like that) and it just spoke volumes about the trust they had in each other and the depth of their relationship. YMMV, of course, but I felt that Foxx and Farrell invested the relationship with a lot of history and feeling.

ETA: Justin Theroux was absolutely wasted in this (and not in a Colin Farrell pre-rehab sort of way)! He must have had a larger part once - he would just sort of pop up here and there and I was like "WTF?!?" because the movie never even stated what his job function was - I guess he was undercover along with Foxx and Farrell... but what??? Seriously.