Miami Vice (Michael Mann, 2006)

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Fletch F. Fletch · #1 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 10:16 am

Official Website is up

Teaser Trailer

Hopefully, a Quicktime version of the trailer will go up soon. Can't stand Flash. It looks good... It seems that Mann is sticking to the same kind of look he had on Collateral.

Synopsis: The cocaine cowboys of the '80s are gone, but Miami's Casablanca allure, the undercover cops and the attitudes of Michael Mann's culturally influential television series have been enhanced by time in the feature film version of Miami Vice.

Ricardo Tubbs (Academy AwardÂ® winner Jamie Foxx of Ray, Jarhead) is urbane and dead smart. He lives with Bronx-born intel analyst Trudy, played by British actress Naomie Harris (28 Days Later, upcoming Pirates of the Caribbean II and III), as they work undercover transporting drug loads into South Florida to identify a group responsible for three murders.

Sonny Crockett (Colin Farrell of S.W.A.T., The New World) [to the untrained eye, his presentation may seem unorthodox, but procedurally he is sound] is charismatic and flirtatious untilâ€”while undercover working with the supplier of the South Florida groupâ€”he gets romantically entangled with Isabella, the Chinese-Cuban wife of an arms and drugs trafficker. Isabella is played by the Chinese actress Gong Li (Raise the Red Lantern, Memoirs of a Geisha).

The best undercover identity is oneself with the volume turned up and restraint unplugged. The intensity of this case pushes Crockett and Tubbs out onto the edge where identity and fabrication become blurred, where cop and player become oneâ€”especially for Crockett in his romance with Isabella and for Tubbs in the provocation of an assault on those he loves.

Miami Vice, as a large-scale feature film, liberates what is adult, dangerous and alluring about working deeply undercoverâ€¦especially when Crockett and Tubbs go to where their badges don't countâ€¦

Miami Vice stars Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Gong Li, Naomie Harris and Ciarán Hinds and is written and directed by Michael Mann, who also produces along with Pieter Jan Brugge; Anthony Yerkovich serves as executive producer.

Arn777 · #2 Post by **Arn777** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 11:47 am

They seem to be having fun reliving the 80s, apparently Colin Farrell ODed last friday while in Uruguay shooting a few scenes.

Fletch F. Fletch · #3 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 1:30 pm

I'm surprised the same didn't happen while shooting Alexander considering what a notorious party animal Oliver Stone is...

flyonthewall2983 · #4 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 3:18 pm

It'll be interesting to see how he pulls it off. I'm just curious about two things, how Michael will approach the humor of the film and the music. Collateral had it's share of humor, but was rather swept under the carpet by the dramatic undercurrent. And while I think his choice of music in his films have been superior so far, I just hope it doesn't become a hits parade like the show was to some extent. BTW, does anyone know if TV Land had the trailer on during the marathon of the show on Saturday?

Fletch F. Fletch · #5 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 5:19 pm

From what little info has been leaked out, Mann has said in so many words that it will resemble the TV show in name only (well, that and a few of the characters' names too) but in terms of tone, atmosphere, etc. it will be completely different.

The Invunche · #6 Post by **The Invunche** » Tue Dec 13, 2005 8:56 pm

Looks cool as hell, but I will not renew my membership of the Mann fan-club if there's Linking Park music in the movie.

The Fanciful Norwegian · #7 Post by **The Fanciful Norwegian** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:15 am

I just hope they work the Grandmaster Melle Mel song in there somewhere.

VICE, VICE, VICE, VICE, VICE (MIAMI!)

flyonthewall2983 · #8 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 12:25 am

Looks cool as hell, but I will not renew my membership of the Mann fan-club if there's Linking Park music in the movie.

I know, but I bet it's just temp music from the studio.

Polybius · #9 Post by **Polybius** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:45 am

Definitely a cast upgrade, all across the board (Barry Shabaka Henley seems a weird choice as Castillo, considering that role was previously handled by the mighty Edward James Olmos, but I'm willing to trust Michael.)

Fletch F. Fletch · #10 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:02 am

And Henley has been so good in other Mann outings -- Robbery Homicide Division, Ali and Collateral. I am really curious to see what kind of role Isaach De Bankolé, John Hawkes and Tom Towles play in this movie.

The Invunche · #11 Post by **The Invunche** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 10:15 am

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Robbery Homicide Division

Where can I get my fingers on that show?

che-etienne · #12 Post by **che-etienne** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:26 pm

F**KIN' awesome. That trailer looks sick. "Collateral" was one of my favorite films of last year. So I'm psyched for this latest Mann film. I think in terms of visual style Mann is really on to something quite new. He keeps redefining the cyber punk look in subtle ways with each new film.

Fletch F. Fletch · #13 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 1:51 pm

The Invunche wrote:
Fletch F. Fletch wrote:Robbery Homicide Division
Where can I get my fingers on that show?

No idea. I don't think it's ever been officially released on DVD. I taped most of the episodes when they originally aired.

Andre Jurieu · #14 Post by **Andre Jurieu** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 2:38 pm

The Invunche wrote:Looks cool as hell, but I will not renew my membership of the Mann fan-club if there's Linking Park music in the movie.

It works for awhile and I don't even mind the Jay-Z lyrics that sync up with the images, but once Linkin Park actually kicks in on the track the teaser starts to suffer. It's a minor flaw though. The teaser looks impressive and I hope the film continues Mann's subtle scrutiny of racial tensions in urban environments. I'm still loving the digital images. That suit that Farrell is in (while he's on the phone) is extra-cheesy.

Fletch F. Fletch · #15 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 5:21 pm

Andre Jurieu wrote:The teaser looks impressive and I hope the film continues Mann's subtle scrutiny of racial tensions in urban environments. I'm still loving the digital images.

Me too. I noticed that Dion Beebe is credited as the cinematographer so I'm sure we're going to see more of what made Collateral look so good. I believe that Mann is still shooting partially digitally and on partially on film stock (probably for the interiors as he did on Collateral). I'm really looking forward to seeing what the RZA does for the score. I loved what he did on Kill Bill and Ghost Dog.

The Invunche · #16 Post by **The Invunche** » Wed Dec 14, 2005 6:15 pm

Fletch F. Fletch wrote:I taped most of the episodes when they originally aired.

How is it? I have never seen it.

Harold Gervais · #17 Post by **Harold Gervais** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:18 am

It's funny but as my group of friends were sitting through trailers waiting for Kong to start they ran this trailer. I knew pretty much right away what it was for and I muttered to the friend closest to me that this was the Miami Vice trailer and he started to laugh & laugh until he realized I wasn't joking and just muttered to himself, "that's just not right man...of all the stupid TV shows it has to this one." Can't say as I disagree and this is coming from someone who really likes Michael Mann films.

The Invunche · #18 Post by **The Invunche** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 8:56 am

Why is it "not right"?

Fletch F. Fletch · #19 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 10:02 am

The Invunche wrote:How is it? I have never seen it.

Stylistically, it's a warm-up for Collateral. Even though Mann dabbled with digital cameras a little bit in Ali, he really utilizes them in this show, sort of like L.A. Takedown was a rough draft for Heat. The show itself was quite good -- very no-nonsense procedural a la Law and Order with Tom Sizemore well cast as the leader of a squad of cops much like Pacino in Heat that take down high profile crews of criminals.

flyonthewall2983 · #20 Post by **flyonthewall2983** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:22 am

It was said once by somebody that basically it was a continuation of L.A. Takedown.

Fletch F. Fletch · #21 Post by **Fletch F. Fletch** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 12:18 pm

Yeah, I'd go with that... only much better written, directed, etc.

The Invunche · #22 Post by **The Invunche** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 3:17 pm

I've tried on several bittorrent trackers, but it seems impossile to find. Guess I have to wait for the DVDs.

John Cope · #23 Post by **John Cope** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 6:28 pm

I can affirm everything Fletch said and add to it a little bit. RHD was a great show with a lot of potential but its success was frustrated by a number of factors, chief among them I suspect being the high cost of production. Mann certainly didn't skimp. CBS never got behind it (it's said that they weren't too keen on Sizemore as lead either) and relegated it to awful time slots and a disruptive schedule. It never really had a chance and it is a testament to the quality of the show that it had such a high ratio of excellent episodes. It felt as though it emerged fully formed, with little on screen gestation required. And that's rare.

What I loved so much about it was what I think makes Mann always great. It was serious about the whole "men doing a job" thing, but unlike all the prosaic procedurals which clutter our airwaves the series cast that work and those men in a mythic light. This is still the aspect of Mann that gets the least attention. Everyone quite understandably respects his technical craftsmanship and his attention to detail but those elements are always at the service of a greater goal, a kind of contemporary mythologizing for lack of a better word. He sees what so few other action directors do--the vast potential meaning of the action experience and the latent drama that exists to be tapped into, not simply grafted onto the surface. RHD was haunting (and a refinement on Mann's previous TV work) in the way it withheld much of the dramatic release associated with cathartic action spectacle. It was a logical extension and development of the scheme he put in place with The Insider and perfected with Ali. So much was implied and attained power only in the gathering of accumulated nuance. Unlike the soul deadening CSI franchise, which takes its pathological attitude (if you'll excuse the term) for granted as an inevitable outcome of an inherently corrupt society, RHD charted surface tensions and queried whether they should be accepted with grudging indifference or profound disquiet.

As to Vice, I 've been hoping for this film to come about for a number of years and I am very encouraged by the results so far. Farrell and Foxx seem like great choices to me and the desire to update the style is absolutely fitting. The official website posts a summary of the plot which is also encouraging because it sounds as though Mann is going to embrace what was at the heart of the series and consider the implications of one of my favorite themes, being that of identity. The series always toyed with the notion of the cops' undercover identities, but mostly as a way of justifying the excess on display. But the false and superficial identities that these heroic characters had to wear around the clock must have had some psychological effect (and did, as judged by the triumvirate of episodes in which Crockett loses his memory and clings to the false persona, mining all its potential evil). This, of course, plays back into the mythic ideas Mann always traffics in. The iconic moments of the series--the music video type sequences and the fetishized posturing--were a reference to the way modern people choose to mythologize their own lives and moments of personal significance, complete with backing vocals and hazy memory sunsets. Mann was not interested in going the facile route of easily criticizing this human inclination but rather depicting it with utter sincerity as something inherent to the human condition, the desire for greater importance. And yet what happens if a person can get no perspective on what they are doing and the pose is all attitude and loses touch with its empathetic roots? What are the costs to real human relationships which rely on vulnerability not fortress of steel iconic posturing? It sounds as though these are the themes Mann will be exploring more thoroughly in the film. Here's hoping.

TedW · #24 Post by **TedW** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:23 pm

John Cope wrote:Mann was not interested in going the facile route of easily criticizing this human inclination but rather depicting it with utter sincerity as something inherent to the human condition, the desire for greater importance. And yet what happens if a person can get no perspective on what they are doing and the pose is all attitude and loses touch with its empathetic roots? What are the costs to real human relationships which rely on vulnerability not fortress of steel iconic posturing? [/img]

Uh, I think he just likes pseudo-tough guy dialogue and iconic posturing. The ideas you mention might be interesting in another movie, but don't hold your breath that you're getting some incisive look into the human condition as part of Miami Vice, a $100 million summer action movie.

That said, I've read the script (or at least an earlier script) and it is a cut above the usual genre fare. The bar is so low for that kind of picture it's not hard to stand out, though.

Polybius · #25 Post by **Polybius** » Thu Dec 15, 2005 7:53 pm

John Cope wrote: What I loved so much about it was what I think makes Mann always great. It was serious about the whole "men doing a job" thing, but unlike all the prosaic procedurals which clutter our airwaves the series cast that work and those men in a mythic light. This is still the aspect of Mann that gets the least attention. Everyone quite understandably respects his technical craftsmanship and his attention to detail but those elements are always at the service of a greater goal, a kind of contemporary mythologizing for lack of a better word. He sees what so few other action directors do--the vast potential meaning of the action experience and the latent drama that exists to be tapped into, not simply grafted onto the surface.

So true. Most Directors wouldn't think to try such a thing and if they did, would almost certainly make a hash of it.

I find Walter Hill rather good at bringing that aspect out, but I'm hard pressed to think of anyone else on the current scene who does.