Miami Vice
d. Michael Mann, 2006
It took me a while to finally get around to watching Michael Mann's latest film Miami Vice; having never encountered any of the Mann's work, I really had to idea what to expect. Also, I have never in my life seen an episode of the TV show that this movie's title comes from, though I imagine the show could not be this beautiful.
Despite my lack of knowledge about Mann and the movie's "source," I can say without question that this is easily one of the best and most underrated films of 2006. The actual cop-story of the film is still a little hazy in my mind, particularly because of how breathtaking the cinematography is, and I'm the kind of person that cares more about how a scene looks than how a drug deal is going down.
However, even if the narrative of the film were complete nonsense--which it isn't, it's a high-power drama that doesn't take itself seriously, adding a certain camp value--it would still be a landmark of modern cinema because of its digital photography. I'm still not entirely sure if the movie looks this good because of really smart location shooting or some other type of digital adjustments, but I don't really care.
I already admired Colin Farrel from his role in Malick's The New World, and it was Jamie Foxx that I was unsure about, but he does a fine job here, though his character pales in comparison to Farrel's and Gong Li's.
Digital filmmaking may be radically different than the use of traditional celluloid, but Miami Vice gives us a glimpse into a lush and crisp new world of its own.
