July 30, 2006
Miami Vice is Nice

I am so glad that Miami Vice made it to No. 1 at the box office this weekend. I loved the film, even though it was very different than the TV show, but I did not expect it to click with audiences. There was no advance buzz that I could ascertain and the two stars, Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx have not proven to be box office draws (Ray notwithstanding). But the Saturday show was sold out and Sunday early afternoon was fairly packed. A good sign as it made just over $25 million this weekend and will likely gross over $100 million before it is through. I would like a sequel if it held up to the sharp style and performances put to screen by Michael Mann in this film. It is a gritty Miami Vice, shot with grainy HD cameras where light and the night sky take on a fuzzy, foreboding tone that sets up a feeling of doom throughout. It starts with no credits and right in the middle of a sting. We get no introductions to the characters nor many flashes of their personal lives. Who knows if Crockett lives on a boat like he did on TV because we never go there. These guys are always on the job. There are no moments of levity or comedy nor any celebrity cameos further distancing itself from the show.

When I heard Mann was turning Miami Vice into a contemporary serious film instead of an 80s period piece I did not like it. I thought without the clothes and attitude we know so well, what would distinguish it from just any other modern crime drama? It might as well be Bad Boys III. The difference it turns out was Michael Mann, he knew what he was doing. The soundtrack was another plus. I did not miss the Jan Hammer theme song at all nor did I want a remake. But I always did like the TV show's dark synthesizer background music, which was carried through to the film by new artists. One surprise was how well Mogwai, featured with two songs ("Auto Rock" and "We're No Here" from this year's album Mr. Beast) worked to build emotion and noise into the storyline. The remake of Phil Collins' "In the Air Tonight" by Nonpoint (who?) was really bad though, completely flat. A better use of that classic Vice song would have DJ Z-Trip's mash-up.

Following Vice was Pirates 2 hauling in more booty to be over $350 million already. Superman would kill for that as his film dropped out of the Top 10 this weekend. John Tucker Must Die debuted strong at No. 3, some crediting it's myspace promotion but I just think a lot of girlfriends would not go see Miami Vice. Here is what I don't understand: why did The Ant Bully flop (debuted at No. 5 with only $8 million) and Monster House is only doing so-so (at No. 4 with $43 million to date)? I thought all those animated films with celebrity voices were guaranteed hits. I never get into them but it seems that everyone else does -- Shrek, The Incredibles, A Bug's Life, Toy Story, the list goes on. Especially weeks after Pirates came out I would think kids would be hitting up these films.

Last week: Movie goers dump Super Ex-Girlfriend