Michael Mann’s ‘Miami Vice’ Turns 20: How It Somehow Went From “Misfire” to Cult “Masterpiece”

A Vulture piece by Bilge Ebiri reminds me that the 20th anniversary of Michael Mann’s “Miami Vice,” which has undergone quite the critical reappraisal in recent years, is today. The film was originally panned upon its 2006 release, earning a Rotten Tomatoes score of 46%, only to be heralded years later by a certain contingent of critics as a “masterpiece.”

Ebiri’s title for the piece admits as much: “Miami Vice’s Journey From Misfire to Masterpiece.” It’s not just him. Outlets celebrating the 20th anniversary include The Film Stage, and AV Club.

Do I like “Miami Vice”? As someone who bows down to the church of Mann, having liked practically everything he has done since “Thief”—with the exception of “The Keep,” which he has disowned, and “Blackhat”—“Miami Vice” remains an anomaly to me. I fall into the “style over substance” camp: a film with all-surface texture, an unusual rhythm, and odd pacing, especially in the middle section. Ultimately, I see it as an overindulgent exercise in style and beauty.

Yet, Ebiri, and plenty of others, remains undeterred. He suggests that the film was met with a lukewarm response because audiences and critics expected Mann to revive the stylish, pastel-soaked spirit of the iconic 1980s TV series, famous for its “cool locations,” “cool cars,” “cool boats,” and “especially its cool music.” Instead of delivering a nostalgic action spectacle, Mann made something radically different. The film abandoned the show’s flashy “MTV Cops” aesthetic in favour of a subdued, digital look. Audiences expecting a colourful throwback instead found a film that “didn’t really look hip by either 2006 or 1986 standards,” with “more shower scenes than standoffs” and “more salsa dancing than shootouts.”

Over time, however, “Miami Vice” has somehow experienced a remarkable critical reappraisal. Rather than fading into obscurity, it has developed a devoted cult following, with many younger viewers discovering it independently of the TV series. Critic Brandon Streussnig describes it as “the kind of film that one yearns for in a sea of mega-budget films that look, sound and move all the same.”

The piece goes on to place “Miami Vice” alongside other “misunderstood masterpieces” like “Eyes Wide Shut,” “Casino,” “Speed Racer,” “Vertigo,” “Sunrise,” and “The Searchers,” arguing that these films eventually escaped the pressures of box office expectations and revealed themselves as singular artistic achievements. (I’m not so sure about “Speed Racer” being placed alongside those other classics.)

Yet star Colin Farrell continues to dislike the film: “I didn’t like it so much — I thought it was style over substance and I accept a good bit of the responsibility. It was never going to be Lethal Weapon, but I think we missed an opportunity to have a friendship that also had some elements of fun.”

Ten years later, critic Steven Hyden wrote a now-famous piece arguing that “Miami Vice” had developed “a burgeoning reputation as a cult favorite” and described it as “one of the most expensive art films ever made.”

And yet, in subsequent years, Mann has made it clear that he considers “Miami Vice” to be the movie that “got away” — in large part because of its hastily revised ending.

I don't know how I feel about it. I know the ambition behind it, but it didn't fulfill that ambition for me because we couldn't shoot the real ending.

Mann went on to confess that the biggest mistakes he made were naming the film after the ’80s TV series and not shooting the proper ending he had intended:

I would’ve tried to command the same budget and not call it Miami Vice […] It doesn’t have its proper ending. Because we weren’t able to shoot those last three weeks in Ciudad del Este. We shot for three days. And so there’s a very different ending that belonged on that film.

Mann didn’t shoot the ending he wanted in large part because of Farrell’s co-star, Jamie Foxx, who was reportedly difficult to work with, allegedly demanding a higher salary, top billing in the film’s credits, refusing to fly commercially, and objecting to filming scenes involving boats or planes.

Things came to a crashing halt when production suddenly shut down in the Dominican Republic after gunshots were reportedly fired near the film’s set. Foxx immediately left the country and returned to the United States. This forced Mann to abandon the script’s intended ending.

Despite the on-set drama, the poor initial reviews, and both Mann and Farrell expressing disappointment with the finished film, the “Miami Vice” reappraisal has yet to subside. In our critics’ poll of the best films of the 2000s, “Miami Vice” finished in 38th place—not bad for a film that was widely ridiculed upon release.