{"id":365,"date":"2006-07-30T20:20:43","date_gmt":"2006-07-31T00:20:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/2006\/07\/30\/miami-mice-2006\/"},"modified":"2023-06-01T14:03:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-01T18:03:10","slug":"miami-vice-2006","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/miami-vice-2006\/","title":{"rendered":"Michael Mann’s Miami Vice movie is stylish but slight"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Miami Vice<\/em> is decidedly slight on character and depth, which is not surprising considering the source material. It is quite so, however, considering writer\/director Michael Mann’s<\/a> track record once leaving the iconic 80s tv show behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The deep characterization in all his crime dramas ranging from Thief<\/em> through Collateral<\/em> elevate them above the ultrastylized and hyperviolent genre films they would have been otherwise. Even the most minor characters in Heat<\/em> have backstories and substance. Thief<\/em> and Heat<\/em> each revolve around a long coffeeshop conversation; how many genre films slow down long enough for the characters to talk to each other? And it also has to be said of Collateral<\/em> that Mann somehow drew an actual performance out of the increasingly looney Tom Cruise, probably one of his last before he heads further down Michael Jackson lane to crazy town.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Miami Vice<\/em> is disappointingly empty, despite an engagingly twisty-turny plot and typically brilliant editing and cinematography. But when there is no investment in the characters, who cares when they start shooting each other in the face?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Miami Vice is decidedly slight on character and depth, which is not surprising considering the source material. It is quite so, however, considering writer\/director Michael Mann’s track record once leaving the iconic 80s tv show behind. The deep characterization in all his crime dramas ranging from Thief through Collateral elevate them above the ultrastylized and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,2],"tags":[1515,1121,1286,1287,362,1290,1288,1285,1037,45,44,1289,1291],"class_list":["post-365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2-stars","category-movies","tag-1515","tag-ciaran-hinds","tag-colin-farrell","tag-crockett","tag-eddie-marsan","tag-gong-li","tag-jamie-foxx","tag-miami-vice","tag-michael-mann","tag-suspense","tag-thriller","tag-tubbs","tag-undercover"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2006\/07\/miami-vice-movie-feature.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa9lhB-5T","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3519,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mann-miami-vice\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":0},"title":"Which Way Is Up: Michael Mann’s Miami Vice","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 4, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"The simple truth is that I hated Michael Mann's Miami Vice on first viewing. On a technical level, it was marred by hideously poor sound -- for which I blamed the particular theater I happened to see it in, but a friend of mine had the same complaint about a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/miami-vice.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3539,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/mann-public-enemies\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":1},"title":"Relentless Withholding: Michael Mann’s Public Enemies","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"March 26, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Khoi Vinh rightly observes in Minimalism, Michael Mann and Miami Vice that \"Mann has produced a taut, stylistic and often brutally impersonal filmography that seems most interested in the concept of work\" (via Daring Fireball). I wholly understand and laud the aim of a minimalist, \"relentlessly withholding\" narrative, but I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Public Enemies","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/03\/public-enemies.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":961,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/last-of-the-mohicans\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":2},"title":"Daniel Day-Lewis is Natty Bumppo in Michael Mann’s The Last of the Mohicans","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 23, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This blogger is a longtime fan of director Michael Mann, counting Heat, The Insider, and Collateral among my favorite films. But I still can't find much love for what is probably his most popular movie, The Last of the Mohicans, which seems to lack his typically intense focus and clarity.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Last of the Mohicans","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/last-of-the-mohicans-feature.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5703,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/l-a-takedown-is-the-rough-draft-for-michael-manns-masterpiece-heat\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":3},"title":"L.A. Takedown is the rough draft for Michael Mann’s masterpiece Heat","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"October 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"I finally, finally,\u00a0finally\u00a0had the opportunity to cross L.A. Takedown off my movie watchlist \u2014 a largely unavailable holy grail that I've been desperately curious to see for\u00a0years. If director Michael Mann had not reworked this material into the masterpiece Heat, L.A. Takedown would probably be pushed so far down his\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"L.A. Takedown","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/la-takedown.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":361,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/the-dork-report-for-august-8-2006\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":4},"title":"The Dork Report for August 8, 2006","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"August 8, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Some bad news for Doctor Who spinoff Torchwood: seems hours of footage shot in low-light on hi-def digital cameras (a la Collateral and Miami Vice) had to be scrapped [no longer online: scifipulse.net\/Dr_Who\/Torchwood_HIDef.html] when the Panasonic cameras didn't perform as advertised. I'm hardly an expert, but don't you thnk they\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "The Dork Report"","block_context":{"text":"The Dork Report","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/dork-report\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Dork Report","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/08\/dork-report.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5882,"url":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/hancock-begs-to-be-read-as-a-metaphor-but-for-what\/","url_meta":{"origin":365,"position":5},"title":"Hancock begs to be read as a metaphor, but for what?","author":"Chad Ossman","date":"December 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Peter Berg's Hancock refreshingly begins in the middle, bypassing the superhero genre's now-standard structure. But that leaves a great deal of mythology to relate later, especially for a story not based on an already well-known household name like Spider-Man or Batman. But like most superhero movies, it neatly lays groundwork\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "3 Stars"","block_context":{"text":"3 Stars","link":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/category\/ratings\/3-stars\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Charlize Theron and Will Smith in Hancock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hancock.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hancock.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hancock.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hancock.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/hancock.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=365"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8691,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/365\/revisions\/8691"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chadossman.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}