2K Replay: MIAMI VICE

 by Adam Riske

Nominated for “Best Film Editing” at the Satellite Awards. It lost to X-Men: The Last Stand.

• Best Scene/Moment (tie): This is tough because almost every scene rules. I guess I’ll go with any dialogue stretch where there’s a lot of jargon like “Go-Fast boats” or “We guarantee loads.” I could listen to these guys talk shop all day. Also, any scene in a speedboat.

• Best Song: “Numb/Encore” by Jay-Z and Linkin Park.

• Best Merch: A “Miami Vice television crime drama poster Large 27” wide by 18” high” for $14.99. I like this poster because it looks like something you’d have on your bedroom wall circa 1986.

• Director Grade: Miami Vice was directed by Michael Mann.
Great Movies: Thief, Heat, The Insider, Miami Vice
Good Movies: Manhunter, Collateral
OK Movies: Blackhat
Bad Movies: Ali, Public Enemies
Unseen By Me: The Keep, The Last of the Mohicans, Ferrari
Overall Grade: A-

• Double It with This 2006 Movie: The Departed

• Year 2006 Movies to Trailer Before Them: Casino Royale, Dreamgirls, Inside Man

• Ella McCay or Miami Vice? Miami Vice

• Mall Movie? Not right away because of the Michael Mann of it all, but it might’ve made its way to the mall before the end of its run in theaters.

• Only in 2006: A movie shot on high-definition digital video that looks good.

• Scene Stealer: John Ortiz.

• I Miss: Michael Mann movies shot on film. I read Heat 2 will be shot on film, which I hope is the case.

• I Don’t Miss: The director’s cut of Miami Vice. Changing the opening to this movie is sacrilegious. After sitting through that change, what’s the point of sitting through the rest? At least it’s not as bad as the various versions of Ali that Mann has made over the years, which I’m always convinced will fix my issues with the movie but instead makes the movie even worse every time.

• 2006 Crush: Gong Li.

• 2026 Crush: Naomie Harris.

• What I Thought in 2006: I had never seen the television show when I saw Miami Vice in theaters, so I was sort of thrown off by it. I was expecting Bad Boys, and this was way moodier and more dramatic. I didn’t dislike Miami Vice, and I felt like I needed to see it again but, yeah, I wasn’t ready for it either.

• What I Think in 2026: Nowadays, I love this movie. It just took me a couple of tries to get on its wavelength. I especially love the performances by Colin Farrell (who’s like all passion underneath a surface of stoic) and John Ortiz in a “Who’s that guy?” performance that led to a career of several other performances I’ve also enjoyed. Miami Vice gets better with every viewing. I love that it gives the audience credit for being smart and asking you as a viewer to catch up to it instead of appealing to the lowest common denominator.