I Saw Miami Vice and It Was Good

Movie #38




This movie was good. Not great, but good.
Anyone going to the film for the express purpose of ogling Colin Farrell will not come away disappointed. The film is shot mostly in digital, and mostly in extreme close-ups. It has benefits, because you feel like you’re really in the middle of the action. Some of the baddies are truly threatening characters, and it captures the atmosphere of overwhelming heat and tension very well. It has drawbacks as well, such as the usual action-happening-too-fast result of a claustrophobically close camera. But as a result, when the shot widens to show the whole ocean, it’s breathtaking.

I also was initially confused because this movie does not take place in the 80s. I heard that there was no feathered hair or white suits, and thought that Michael Mann must have just toned it down. Well, DUH, everyone in Miami had feathered hair and white suits in the 80s, so if there are none in the movie, it follows that it takes place in the present day. Didn’t really bother me, but people going for the 80s nostalgia will be unpleasantly surprised.

The story is also quite confusing. I think it’ll take an extra viewing to unravel the plot layers. It’ll also taken another viewing for me to count the beads of sweat on Colin Farrell’s face. In summary, this movie merits another viewing (for me anyway). I recommend that other people sit farther back than I did (fourth row, a little disconcerting).