Miami Vice

[Major Johnathan]

Yes, that is exactly what Mann should have done. Same era, same clothes, same music, same damn everything. I'd rather it be an homage to the original '80s series than some Hollywood-cookie-cutter-buddy-movie-uber-gay crap. If the casting gives us any clues as to what the finished product will be like, don't expect much. I don't understand why the hell anyone still hires Colon Farrell (yes, that's how I spell it). The guy is a complete and utter douche-bag and his best acting is when he pretends to not be an a-hole. Jamie Foxx is at least likeable, but if he starts acting stupid, it won't be Tubbs.

352281[/snapback]

Maybe to compete with Brokeback Mountain, Tubbs and Crocket will be lovers so it literally is gay? Could happen in Hollywood these days.

Also, was Jamie Foxx the smiling guy posing in pictures with the late 'Tookie' Williams? Maybe I'm confusing him with someone else, but if it was him...

[Die, Alien Scum!]

Yes, that is exactly what Mann should have done. Same era, same clothes, same music, same damn everything. I'd rather it be an homage to the original '80s series than some Hollywood-cookie-cutter-buddy-movie-uber-gay crap. If the casting gives us any clues as to what the finished product will be like, don't expect much. I don't understand why the hell anyone still hires Colon Farrell (yes, that's how I spell it). The guy is a complete and utter douche-bag and his best acting is when he pretends to not be an a-hole. Jamie Foxx is at least likeable, but if he starts acting stupid, it won't be Tubbs.

352281[/snapback]

Maybe to compete with Brokeback Mountain, Tubbs and Crocket will be lovers so it literally is gay?

No, that wouldn't work. They already tried to make it easy on Colon Farrell and cast him as a homosexual in "Alexander" and that movie bombed. The most natural thing to him and he blew it (pun intended). And that was directed by Oliver Stone, who is normally able to get a good performance from his actors. Hell, even Kevin Costner was good in "JFK". How bad a slam is that to Colon Farrell!? "You're no Kevin Costner!" LOL!

[bsu legato]

I just want to say that there is some very well thought out and reasonable criticism going on in this thread. On a film that nobody has seen yet, no less.

[JsARCLIGHT]

I think my personal "grumpiness" about this movie is dying out fast... mostly because the original Vice season two box set came out yesterday and I have it in my grubby hands.

... but the more I see of this new vice the more confused I get about it. The "world" that Vice exsists in has changed dramatically since 1985. The glamorous coke smuggler wearing deconstructed italian suits, driving a ferrari and living the playboy lifestyle in Miami is long gone... thanks in part to all the exposure it got from the original Vice. Today's drug smugglers still employ some of the same tactics as they did back then but the "scene" and the "vibe" has totally changed. I still firmly believe that if Mann is trying to "reuse" the vibe of the original Vice then this movie is going to seem very out of place in today's world. The drug empires and barons of the '80s gave way to the kingpins and street thugs of the '90s which gave us today's drug world... which is dramatically different that that of Vice, not to mention that the type of deep cover police work shown in Vice is not hanlded by Vice cops anymore... it's the work of the DEA and Narcotics.

I have no doubt that Mann can craft a fine film but I still have doubts about trying to use the Vice template in modern day. Vice is and has always been about that small window of time in the late '70s early '80s when drug barons openly walked the streets of Miami flaunting their money and success and the daring cops who went undercover as them to arrest them... that sort of thing just does not happen in the same way anymore.

I know I sound like a broken record but if this movie was named anything other than Miami Vice I'd probably love it unquestioningly... but you tack the Vice name on it and my mind instantly thinks of only one thing. It's like making a Dukes of Hazzard movie only set in modern times with none of the charm, wit and flair that the original had... oh wait... they did that already...

Oh and for those who said "rap does not belong in Miami Vice", the original Vice had quite a bit of classic '80s rap in it. Anyone remember Melle Mel and his song "Vice"? Written and performed specifically for Miami Vice along with a few other good classic rap songs from "back in the day".

[bsu legato]

Oh and for those who said "rap does not belong in Miami Vice", the original Vice had quite a bit of classic '80s rap in it. Anyone remember Melle Mel and his song "Vice"? Written and performed specifically for Miami Vice along with a few other good classic rap songs from "back in the day".

352317[/snapback]

Bah! Your facts are no match for nostalgia and selective memory!

[Duke Togo]

Doing anything other than what Mann is doing with Vice would result in another horrid TV show-to-movie episode, which would bomb just like every other one has. Mann is clearly taking a very serious approach to it. No camp, no gags, no in-jokes... just a hard core vice cop movie. I LOVED Heat, and enjoyed the hell out of Collateral, and I'd expect no less of an effort out of Mann on Vice.

The last thing I wanted to see was some sort of hack effort making a cheesy cop film, starring any number of the half assed "comedic actors" who seem to get alot of work in Hollywood these days.

[pfunk]

just all shut up and wait for the "A" team movie, I pity the foo who mess wit "T"

[Duke Togo]

I wouldn't bet against Michael Mann. Even movies of his I didn't like were admittedly well made ( Ali, Insider)

He does cops and robbers really well. Everything else, not so much.

Hate to say it, but Brad Pitt/Will Smith would have probably fit the roles better than Farrell/Foxx.

352344[/snapback]

Pitt/Smith would have been a disaster. I like Pitt alot, but he is NOT Crockett. Will Smith's problem is that he plays Will Smith in every movie. As far as I am concerned, I have no interest in seeing anything else he does at this point.

[Duke Togo]

Having watched it several times now, I'd actually go as far as saying I love the trailer.

[yellowlightman]

Pitt/Smith would have been a disaster. I like Pitt alot, but he is NOT Crockett. Will Smith's problem is that he plays Will Smith in every movie. As far as I am concerned, I have no interest in seeing anything else he does at this point.

352403[/snapback]

There was an interview in Wired a year or two ago where Will Smith talks about how he was offered the role of Neo in The Matrix before Keanu Reeves. He said that looking back he's glad it didn't work out and he didn't get to play Neo because if it had, it would have turned The Matrix into another "Will Smith Movie" which wouldn't have worked.

[Graham]

I wouldn't bet against Michael Mann. Even movies of his I didn't like were admittedly well made ( Ali, Insider)

He does cops and robbers really well. Everything else, not so much.

Hate to say it, but Brad Pitt/Will Smith would have probably fit the roles better than Farrell/Foxx.

352344[/snapback]

Pitt/Smith would have been a disaster. I like Pitt alot, but he is NOT Crockett. Will Smith's problem is that he plays Will Smith in every movie. As far as I am concerned, I have no interest in seeing anything else he does at this point.

352403[/snapback]

Definitely would have prefered Pitt to Farrel as Crocket, but Will Smith is a definite no no for Tubbs.

Problem is that Crocket and Tubbs are such iconic characters and Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas so nailed the parts, it's very difficult to imagine any of today's current crop of actors fillling their shoes.

Graham

[Graham]

What would you have them do, dress everyone in pastels (hold the socks) and blast Phil Collins (as if he's any better than Jay Z)?

352265[/snapback]

Yes, to pastels and Phil Collins.

Who is Jay Z?

I'm guessing he's a rap singer? Never heard of him myself. Rap is not my cup of tea and thankfully, it's not popular in this part of the world and rarely plays on the radio or TV here.

Graham

[Graham]

I know I sound like a broken record but if this movie was named anything other than Miami Vice I'd probably love it unquestioningly.

352317[/snapback]

Same here. Mann should either call the movie something else, or still call it Miami Vice, but do not call the main characters 'Crocket & Tubbs'. Create all new characters instead and perhaps as a nice shoutout to the original, have a scene mentioning that Crocket and Tubbs were these two cops that worked Vice back in the '80s.

Oh and for those who said "rap does not belong in Miami Vice", the original Vice had quite a bit of classic '80s rap in it. Anyone remember Melle Mel and his song "Vice"? Written and performed specifically for Miami Vice along with a few other good classic rap songs from "back in the day".

352317[/snapback]

IMO, classic '80s rap is still mostly listenable to, unlike what they pass off as music these days (heh, sounds like I'm turning into my old man).

Graham

[Graham]

Anybody know what pistol Farrel's Crocket is going to be carrying? I've tried searching online for pics and info, but so far have drawn a blank.

I doubt it will still be TV Crocket's S&W 4506 from season 5, as they are ourt of production, but it better be something big and stainless and carried in a horizontal shoulder rig.

My suggestions would be either a .45 SIG P220 stainless or a .45 S&W 945 5", which would carry on the tradition nicely as TV Crocket used S&W .45 autos for 4 out of 5 seasons. The 945 is not a typical cop gun either, so would be good for undercover work. One of the new stainless S&W 1911s would also do, although I'm not a huge fan of 1911 type pistols.

Graham

[David Hingtgen]

I've been trying to find out what car(s) will be in it---anyone know anything?

[yellowlightman]

I've been trying to find out what car(s) will be in it---anyone know anything?

352489[/snapback]

Crocket will be driving an F430, I think. It's in the trailer anyways.

[David Hingtgen]

Is it white? (I'm not much of a fan of the 430, I like the 348, 355, and 360 much better)

[Graham]

Looks black in the trailer.

Graham

[ComicKaze]

Look, I hate "Colon" Farrell as well and he is indeed a douchebag. SWAT was one of the worst movies I have ever seen, but Alexander trumped that. I also can't stand Jamie Foxx in the role for no good reason except that he's no Tubbs.

But in the end, Michael Mann basically created the entire look of the original show in the first place, he's even the one who decided on the pastels! He was the executive producer 84-89, and I figure, if anybody knows what Vice was, it's this guy, and if anybody wants to change it for modern times, nobody has more right to it than him.

As long as it's not some new fancy-smancy director the studio hired, trying to do a remake of a classic he has absolutely no conception or care about, I'm fine with it.I'm sure that Mann "understands" what Vice is.

Oh wait, I forgot all about George Lucas. But that's a different case. If Michael Mann approached Vice 2006 like George Lucas, he would indeed recreate that pastel world and rape all of our childhoods by doing it all wrong or trying to fix the mistakes of the original by using CG or totally retarding it up like digitally imposing Colin Farrell's head on top of shots of Don Johnson.

Edited December 15, 2005 by ComicKaze

[ComicKaze]

Anybody know what pistol Farrel's Crocket is going to be carrying? I've tried searching online for pics and info, but so far have drawn a blank.

I doubt it will still be TV Crocket's S&W 4506 from season 5, as they are ourt of production, but it better be something big and stainless and carried in a horizontal shoulder rig.

My suggestions would be either a .45 SIG P220 stainless or a .45 S&W 945 5", which would carry on the tradition nicely as TV Crocket used S&W .45 autos for 4 out of 5 seasons. The 945 is not a typical cop gun either, so would be good for undercover work. One of the new stainless S&W 1911s would also do, although I'm not a huge fan of 1911 type pistols.

Graham

352488[/snapback]

Crokett's most famous and rare signature weapon was the Bren Ten used for Seasons 1 and 2. Demand was so great for this weapon, that the manufacturer went out of business because they were hand-built.

[Graham]

Crokett's most famous and rare signature weapon was the Bren Ten used for Seasons 1 and 2. Demand was so great for this weapon, that the manufacturer went out of business because they were hand-built.

352538[/snapback]

The Bren Ten 10mm, while being a nice weapon, was by all accounts not terribly reliable with blank ammo, which was why the switch to the uber-reliable S&W 645 in seasons 3 & 4.

Graham

[JsARCLIGHT]

I wonder what that stainless Bren would fetch today... wasn't it a one of a kind?

[Graham]

Crokett's most famous and rare signature weapon was the Bren Ten used for Seasons 1 and 2. Demand was so great for this weapon, that the manufacturer went out of business because they were hand-built.

352538[/snapback]

I've long had an interest in the Bren Ten. For those that care, the exact reasons that the manufacturer went out of business are covered on the Bren-Ten.com website.

I've copied the relevant text below: -

The Demise of Dornaus & Dixon And The Bren Ten

While it is fact that Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises, Inc. filed bankruptcy and closed its doors in 1986, the reasons for this have long been unclear and misunderstood. One popular belief, often refered to in the gun magazines of the time, was that the unavailability of magazines was the primary reason. While problems with the mags were another "nail in the coffin" so to speak, they were not the main issue. Simply put, the company lacked sufficient funding to continue operation. Dornaus & Dixon started taking advance orders (along with payments for these orders) at least as early as 1982. This created huge pressures to deliver and because of this guns were shipped prior to any kind of endurance testing. If this testing had been done beforehand all the various problems which surfaced subsequently could have been addressed during the development stage, before any guns ever got into the hands of consumers. But instead what happened was that Dornaus & Dixon were forced to scramble in order to fix problems with guns that had already been paid for while still trying to fill long paid for orders. Of these problems the first generation mags were just one of the more publicized issues. Basically the company was trying to ship guns to buyers who's money had long since been spent while at the same time trying to fix guns (and magazines) that had already been shipped and were now being returned for warranty work. This equates to labor and product going out and no money coming in. So, with bankruptcy papers filed, the company of Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises, Inc. shut down operation and the Bren Ten semiautomatic pistol became yet another piece of firearm history.

Graham

[Graham]

I wonder what that stainless Bren would fetch today... wasn't it a one of a kind?

352794[/snapback]

Apparently, the Miami Vice Bren Ten was hard chromed, not stainless. Info again from the Bren-Ten.com website.

All-Stainless Bren?

There are a number of interesting facts about the Bren Ten used on Miami Vice. First off, the gun used by the character Sonny Crockett appears to be an all-stainless steel gun. None of the production guns made by Dornaus & Dixon were all-stainless. Because of gauling problems between stainless steel slides and frames Dornaus & Dixon opted to go with a stainless frame and a carbon steel slide, and on ALL the full-sized guns these slides are blued, without exception. The Special Forces Light, however, has a slide that is hard chromed rather than blued. This is the finish that is also on the Miami Vice Bren. From what I understand, Sonny Crockett's pistol received this treatment to make it more visible during night filming. (This is the same reason it was decided to repaint his Ferrari Testarossa white which was originally black like the Ferrari Daytona Spyder 365 GTS/4 that was used in the first few seasons.)

Graham

[Graham]

And anothing thing about the new movie.

No Jan Hammer = Not Miami Vice!

Graham

[JsARCLIGHT]

And anothing thing about the new movie.

No Jan Hammer = Not Miami Vice!

Graham

352841[/snapback]

But Jan Hammer left the original Vice after season four so there is at least one season of the original Vice out there (season five) with NO Jan Hammer...

[Duke Togo]

And anothing thing about the new movie.

No Jan Hammer = Not Miami Vice!

Graham

352841[/snapback]

Considering Michael Mann was the Executive Producer for the entire run of the TV show, I would tend to think he knows what makes it Vice and what doesn't.

[Kin]

I've watched the trailer... I'm very disapointed. They shouldn't call the movie "Miami Vice". It's just a plain action movie.

[Duke Togo]

I've watched the trailer... I'm very disapointed. They shouldn't call the movie "Miami Vice". It's just a plain action movie.

352951[/snapback]

How does one equate "plain action movie" and Michael Mann?

[Agent ONE]

I've watched the trailer... I'm very disapointed. They shouldn't call the movie "Miami Vice". It's just a plain action movie.

352951[/snapback]

How does one equate "plain action movie" and Michael Mann?

353029[/snapback]

Word. I don't get a MV feel from the trailer, but I totally trust MM.

[Black Valkyrie]

Saw the trailer, these two actors don`t fit at all and this stupid back ground music. Even if it`s a trailer still I`m not impressed.

[Duke Togo]

I think alot of people are forgetting its 2005 and not 1985.

[Kin]

I agree about the music... totaly screwed up.

[David Hingtgen]

But, but--we all WANT Miami Vice the TV show...

[Kin]

Well there are some season 1 and 2 episodes which stands out.

What's bothering me so much is, if they want a totally different story, they shouldn't use the name "miami vice" and all of it's casts.

At least put "miami vice III" or something.