Miami Vice (Michael Mann, 2006)

[che-etienne]

Even if this film's experimental visuals don't turn out to be entirely successful, I applaud Mann for being one of the first to really pioneer this field. If "Inland Empire" is any indication, Lynch too is following suit. It is interesting to note that rather than the mainstream industry itself jumping in for the new technology it is first these more independent auteurs within and without the industry: Lynch, Mann, Lucas, Rodriguez etc.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

And it makes sense that these guys would embrace digital technology because they all love to tinker with their films and manipulate images to such a degree that going digital offers them a whole new area of possibilities.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

ShoWest one sheet movie posters are online: http://www.latinoreview.com/filmpreview.php?id=166

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Eentertainment Weekly has a little blurb on the upcoming film with some soundbites from Mann.

[flyonthewall2983]

There won't even be that Jan Hammer theme-song synthstravaganza.

If nothing else, that's a real tragedy.

But seriously... I'm having my doubts as to how seriously the film will be taken, critically for the most part. I'm sure the film will fare well in the box office. The name alone will put butts in seats. I really thought it was some sort of P.R. joke when it was first announced Michael would be doing this. I have no doubt that Michael will be able to pull it off though. I've praised the man's work since I've been a member here, but I'm afraid that this might fly in his face.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

I'm having my doubts as to how seriously the film will be taken, critically for the most part. I'm sure the film will fare well in the box office. The name alone will put butts in seats. I really thought it was some sort of P.R. joke when it was first announced Michael would be doing this. I have no doubt that Michael will be able to pull it off though. I've praised the man's work since I've been a member here, but I'm afraid that this might fly in his face.

We shall see (obviously... duh!). I think initially people will be skeptical. Esp. with all of the crappy TV remakes that have come before (Dukes of Hazzard, et al) but I think this film will surprise people in how serious it is and how little it's going to resemble the old show. Plus, it should be a nice bit of counter-programming to all of the mindless big budget blockbusters coming out this summer.

[Antoine Doinel]

I'm beginning to wonder if it's not going to resemble the orginal Miami Vice at all, then why reference the show to begin with? Mann fans will be pleased but the average moviegoer expecting a sunny, buddy cop, summer blockbuster movie and getting a moody Mann piece instead will be disappointed.

[flyonthewall2983]

That's something that concerns me as well, but I think the trailer and the eventual TV spots will show that it is most likely the antithesis of the TV show.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Yeah, and I think you'll see Mann, Farrell and Foxx doing a lot of press around the time of the movie's release emphasizing the difference between this film and the show.

[Antoine Doinel]

Which again begs the question of even using "Miami Vice" as a marketing point/film title in the first place. That's like making the film version of Dallas in a completely different city......wait a minute......

[leo goldsmith]

For all of Mann's attempts to distance the film from the show, it remains (I think) to be pointed out that the show is hardly bubblegum candy-ass nonsense. Sure, there's a lot of 80s pop culture (and hilarious cameos by Phil Collins, et al), but the mood that defined the show was pretty melancholy in a very Mann-ly kind of way. It's pretty violent, too.

And Jan Hammer's score is awesome.

[flyonthewall2983]

Both of those points are right on, from what I've seen anyway. It's hardly comedy, and Jan Hammer is an excellent musician. His stuff with the Mahavishnu Orchestra really pushed the limits of what role a keyboardist can play in a band in the 70's, along with Keith Emerson and Rick Wakeman, be it either rock or jazz.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

L.A. Times mini-profile on Mann and the movie...

[che-etienne]

The new trailer's up.

[Antoine Doinel]

I have to say, that trailer looks awful. It actually brought to mind Bad Boys 2, which is not good. It's just a bunch of clips of expensive and beautiful boats and cars, with two beautiful and expensive actors saying VERY BIG AND IMPORTANT lines back and forth to each other. I'm still not even sure what the movie is actually about.

I don't think I've ever seen a Mann movie with a trailer this bad. Oh yeah, the use of that Jay-Z/Linkin Park song, presumably to try and lure younger viewers, is terrible.

I really think this movie isn't going to do well. I think Mann should've ditched associating the film with Miami Vice altogether. I think people are going to go in expecting a Lethal-Weapon-in-Miami kind of flick only to get what appears to be a serious - albeit watered-down - Mann film. And that's fine if that is the kind of movie Mann wants to make, but I think audiences will be expecting a funny Foxx playing off the serious Farrell and instead get two guys furrowing their brows for two hours in beautiful, blue-tinted Miami.

Aside from that, this trailer does nothing to assure me either that this will even be close to being on par with Heat or Collateral.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

I have to say, that trailer looks awful. It actually brought to mind Bad Boys 2, which is not good. It's just a bunch of clips of expensive and beautiful boats and cars, with two beautiful and expensive actors saying VERY BIG AND IMPORTANT lines back and forth to each other. I'm still not even sure what the movie is actually about.

Bad Boys 2?! I think you're being a little harsh. Nah, there's no shots of guys outrunning fireballs or any other kind of Michael Bay style action. Obviously all of these flashy images are to sell the movie -- Mann's no dummy. He knows what needs to be shown to draw people into the theatre. Interestingly, when he did press for The Insider on Charlie Rose he felt that the film did not do well because the trailers for it misrepresented the film. I actually thought they were pretty damn good but anyways.

I don't think I've ever seen a Mann movie with a trailer this bad. Oh yeah, the use of that Jay-Z/Linkin Park song, presumably to try and lure younger viewers, is terrible.

Yeah, I really can't stand that song... or rather, if they just cut out all the vocals and made it an instrumental that would be cool. However, the music in trailers often don't appear in the actual movie and I am looking forwad to seeing what the Rza does with the score.

I really think this movie isn't going to do well. I think Mann should've ditched associating the film with Miami Vice altogether. I think people are going to go in expecting a Lethal-Weapon-in-Miami kind of flick only to get what appears to be a serious - albeit watered-down - Mann film. And that's fine if that is the kind of movie Mann wants to make, but I think audiences will be expecting a funny Foxx playing off the serious Farrell and instead get two guys furrowing their brows for two hours in beautiful, blue-tinted Miami.

Perhaps. I think it will definitely have a strong opening weekend. I think Foxx will draw in a lot of people. However, I think you're passing judgment a little hastily. After all, a couple of minutes of footage is hardly any basis on which to judge a movie on.

Oh yeah, some new pics are online

[che-etienne]

Commercial it may very well end up being, but that trailer is quite different from anything as trashy as "Bad Boys 2". The footage is first of all beautiful, and if you analyzed that trailer shot by shot I'm sure you would see both Mann's trademark attention to detail, and his ability to turn narrative elements that are cliche into high art. This is one of my most anticipated films of the year, and Mann is my favorite American filmmaker. I don't expect it to be a masterpiece. I think Mann is simply exploring new ways to use digital, and to further the themes he explored beginning with "Manhunter" moving onto "Heat" and "Collateral". This may not be better than those... in fact I think it definitely won't be. It might indeed be a stepping-stone however to something better.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

Commercial it may very well end up being, but that trailer is quite different from anything as trashy as "Bad Boys 2". The footage is first of all beautiful, and if you analyzed that trailer shot by shot I'm sure you would see both Mann's trademark attention to detail, and his ability to turn narrative elements that are cliche into high art. This is one of my most anticipated films of the year, and Mann is my favorite American filmmaker.

I couldn't agree more. I think that Mann is definitely shooting for more than merely a summer action film which may hurt its box office in the long run but I am looking forward to seeing what Mann does with all this new digital technology and how he portrays the city of Miami after all these years.

I don't expect it to be a masterpiece. I think Mann is simply exploring new ways to use digital, and to further the themes he explored beginning with "Manhunter" moving onto "Heat" and "Collateral". This may not be better than those... in fact I think it definitely won't be. It might indeed be a stepping-stone however to something better.

Yeah, I can see that. I know Mann's got a few projects in the pipe-line and maybe he's doing a more commercial picture to get a less than commercial one going. We'll see. But as you pointed out, his strengths lie in urban crime films so I am looking forward to seeing what he does with this one.

[Antoine Doinel]

After all, a couple of minutes of footage is hardly any basis on which to judge a movie on.

Ok, I admit I was going a little overboard with the Bad Boys 2 comparison, and yes a couple minutes of footage isn't much to judge a movie on, but this is a trailer and this is what we're supposed to use to get us excited to see a movie. For Michael Mann - whose trailers for the Insider, Collateral and Heat were uniformly great - I am dismayed by what I've seen here.

The brief dialogue here seems way overcooked and despite how beautiful it looks, the trailer feels remarkably empty. Remember, Collateral was also a summer movie, and it pulled in a healthy $24M on opening weekend, and it was a very smart film to boot, so it's not like this is foreign territory for Mann. What am I worried about is that the studio probably wanted a flashy franchise action pic while Mann wanted something closer to his style of crime flick and the result is wobby middle ground. Add that to the reportedly very troubled shoot and you have a recipe for disappointment.

I honestly hope I'm wrong, as I really like Mann as well, but this trailer is a lot of flashy cars, boats, women and guns all photographed beautifully - but not much else.

[gubbelsj]

The brief dialogue here seems way overcooked and despite how beautiful it looks, the trailer feels remarkably empty.

While I would agree with you on the dialogue bit, I seem to remember the Heat trailer relying pretty heavily on tough-guy truisms and, as you say, overcooked comments. They fit pretty well into the movie as a whole, though. I imagine these will, too. Trailers nearly always seem to be assembled around the worst, most obvious, empty-headed dialogue from the film itself.

[TedW]

but I think audiences will be expecting a funny Foxx playing off the serious Farrell and instead get two guys furrowing their brows for two hours in beautiful, blue-tinted Miami.

Aside from that, this trailer does nothing to assure me either that this will even be close to being on par with Heat or Collateral.

How exactly will audiences expect that based on the trailer and ad materials? Does the movie look like that's what's in it? And I would say the trailer makes the movie look very much on par with Collateral at least, which, despite being a hit, was garbage IMO.

[Antoine Doinel]

How exactly will audiences expect that based on the trailer and ad materials? Does the movie look like that's what's in it? And I would say the trailer makes the movie look very much on par with Collateral at least, which, despite being a hit, was garbage IMO.

Yes, the ads point toward something darker, but if you're just the average Joe Schmo (whose these summer blockbusters are aimed at) and you see a poster for Miami Vice or take a look at the TV spots (which I guarantee will be [explosion], [funny line], [explosion], [tough guy line], [logo], [Rated R]) you're probably not thinking you're in for a Heat styled crime flick.

Like I stated before, I think linking this with the '80s Miami Vice was a bad bad idea. I don't think anyone with just a casual acquaintance of the Miami Vice franchise and show is expecting anything remotely serious and deadpan. I can imagine the marketing team is having a nightmare trying to sell this movie to teenagers who don't know what Miami Vice was and to adults who associate the show with Don Johnson and bad haircuts.

[TedW]

That doesn't make any sense to me, sorry. There's no funny lines in any of the material we've seen so far and nothing to indicate there will be "funny lines" to come. I've read the script, btw, and I don't think there's one joke in the whole picture. They're obviously trying to sell it to fans of Heat and Collateral; I would think "Joe Schmo," if he's going to go see this, is going exactly for that reason.

And I don't know how you can not "link" this to the 80s show -- it's the same characters and premise. What would he do? A white narc and a black narc in Miami... call it Metro-Dade P.D. or something? If anything, Mann has done such a serious re-imagining that fans of the cheese might get turned off. This is "Miami Vice" done as heightened realism. Like all his pictures. It probably won't be good -- I'm almost certain of that -- but I'll go see it.

on edit: x-post after your edit

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

Uh, what's up with Colin's mustache? Anyway, I think it looks exciting. Fox and Farrell are not on the same level as De Niro and Pacino, but I look forward to what he'll do with them. Explosions, color, two (or was it three?) different indications of sex, and the looks on the actors' faces all indicate a nice time for me. I'm a big fan of The Insider and Heat so I'm expecting more along the lines of that as well from Mann.

[Fletch F. Fletch]

What am I worried about is that the studio probably wanted a flashy franchise action pic while Mann wanted something closer to his style of crime flick and the result is wobby middle ground. Add that to the reportedly very troubled shoot and you have a recipe for disappointment.

Well, Mann's in the position now where he really doesn't have to worry too much about studio interference as evident with Ali where Sony did not want an R rating so they could get more people in the theaters and Mann refused to soften the language in the movie.

Not to mention he produces his movies so he can keep a closer tab on what happens to them. As for the reports of a troubled shoot, that also happened on The Keep and The Last of the Mohicans. Of course, we know how those films turned out. Actually, I really like the visuals of Mohicans even if the story and dialogue is a pure melodramatic cheese.