Miami Vice, like Superman Returns, is another movie title that brings back memories. Very loosely based on the 80s TV series, the it’s about two cops with the Miami PD and their lifes and work with big guns, fast cars, faster boats and hot babes - except for one of the main characters, for some reason.

Miami Vice takes you straight into the action, no ten minute sequence with a long list of names you really couldn’t care less about reading anyway. It’s not until the end credits you’re actually made aware of the fact that you’ve been watching Miami Vice for the last two hours and fifteen minutes. While we’re talking about time; Michael Mann could probably have cut the movie down by at least thirty minutes without loosing much of the story. This actually seems to be the main issue with movies these days, there are simply too long.

I like Michael Mann’s camera work during action sequences. Hand held cameras gives you a better feel of the (maybe-not-too-realistic) action sequences and makes it seem less like a movie and more like the real thing. What I also like is the sound track. Mann is obviously a Audioslave fan and the tracks used for the movie mostly blend nicely in with what’s going on on the silver screen. During the action sequences, Mann also removes all the background music, as opposed to other directors, who tend to cram in as much music as possible. This works very well because it creates an extra element of tension.

The movie has what I would call a semi-open ending and it wouldn’t surprise me if we can go see Miami Vice 2 in two or so years.

Even though Miami Vice won’t be receive the Movie of the Year Award for 2006, it’s still worth the money. I recommend going to the movies to see it, if it’s too late for that, make sure to catch it on DVD and to turn up the volume during the action sequences.

Views on the Miami Vice goes from bad to worse amongst the internet’s movie besserwissers (a group that includes myself from now, I guess). You find a lot of them over at IMDB. The post “WORST MOVIE EVER!!!!” (registration required, I’m afraid) says it all. It’s also a good peek into the internet movie know-it-all community.

Everyone’s a critique, you know.