Guilty Pleasure Drama — Miami Vice


Today I continue my look at guilty pleasure films with the second drama entry!

Miami Vice (2006)
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jamie Foxx, Li Gong, and John Ortiz
About: Michael Mann is a great and decorated film director. "Heat" is one of the best crime dramas ever made. Mann also earned award nominations for films like "The Insider" and "Ali." On the small screen, he helped bring 1980s style with "Miami Vice." When he decided to re-make it as a film a few years ago, people were excited. Then the film came out and it sort of bombed. I will say that the film is little like the show. Mann said this is the way he wanted to make "Miami Vice," so I'll take him at his word. Having been born in 1981, "Miami Vice" was not a TV show I regularly watched. So I didn't have that attachment to the source material, which might be why I was more able to appreciate the film version. That and I kind of like the film version. It's not a great movie. There are parts that don't make sense, and it has the "Heat" vibe without any of its subtlety. It was also made in the midst of a rough period for Farrell, and that comes out on the screen. But, there is something about it that I find watchable. I think Farrell and Foxx make a good screen team, I like the action and I like the cinematic style that Mann brought to the production. The final act is satisfying, and the movie has enough good features that I would actually have been interested to see a sequel. That will never happen, but a movie that leaves you curious as to what happens next can't be all bad. This is the perfect kind of movie to sit back and watch during the summer. You don't have to think about it too hard and, in fact, if you do it won't be good. Just watch the action and let it wash over you.
Rating: R for strong violence, language and some sexual content. Enter with caution.

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