I have a new test called the Miami Vice Test. Ask someone what they think of the film and if they don’t like it because it should have been an 80’s kitsch experiment then they are beyond salvation and you must leave them to their own tormented existence. We are seemingly so retarded that the only art we can digest is facile and insubstantial and our minds and attention spans have now shrunk to that of goldfish allowing us to laugh at the same joke over and over and over again. This was most recently displayed by the public’s reaction to the Starsky and Hutch film which was simply one 70’s joke on repeat and therefore guaranteeing success at the box office. No wonder the film execs and audiences were up in arms with Miami Vice – why not do an 80’s Starsky and Hutch with Miami Vice huh? You know, the slip-on shoes and the shoulder pads and the big hair? It could have been the perfect multiplex fodder for the masses that had already digested and shitted out the Starsky and Hutch burger and were hungry for more. Alas Mann said no and the Chavs are livid. No neon lights? No knowing winks or mullets? Not here stupid.
This is a classic Mann film and the mistake he made was to call it Miami Vice because the chavs, the film critics and the public can’t see past the title. They want pastel suits with the sleeves rolled up not brilliant set pieces with arms being shot off in slow motion beauty. Miami Vice is a moody, modern thriller featuring a great plot, great acting and great characters. I loved it and if you like Mann then you will like this and if you are stupid you won’t like it because it’s not 80’s nostalgic tosh. Yes there are shoot-outs and speed boats and expensive foreign locations but all are necessary rather than floss and within this film is a love story that is meaningful because of the circumstance that the protagonists, Colin Farell and Li Gong, find themselves in. Sure, it’s not the best Mann film but compared to what other offerings are out right now it’s far beyond the competition. See it for yourself before imitating the chavs. Miami nice. 8/10.