I have been looking forward to this film for many months. The original TV show was very significant to me, and I have enjoyed watching seasons 1+2 on DVD (not every episode is greatness, but there are episodes that are great, and there are frequent scenes that are incredible). This movie had a big budget, a big director (who had shown with Heat and Collateral that he could do action-packed gritty drama, big stars and big-time hype…. but aside from a couple solid scenes (nothing as exhilirating as the 20 strongest scenes from seasons 1+2), this movie had little of the style and excitement, drama and quality of the groundbreaking show. I was not expecting or wanting pastel, but at the end of the day what the TV show will be remembered for is how it incorporated popular music with the visuals to create dynamic, often wordless narratives. Aside from too many Audioslave songs and other non-memorable tracks, the movie had no music connection whatsoever. This is a film that should have had people rushing from the theatre to the music store to pick up the soundtrack. I would like to have seen artists like DJ Shadow and The Automator (so skillfully used in the Mann-produced TV series Robbery Homicide Division incorporated into some of the excellent visuals, and less ambient music used for narrative purposes. Wes Anderson and Quentin Tarantino are two artists who appreciate the value of well-placed, interesting music choices, both popular and obscure, Mann seems to have forgotten this. To imagine Quentin Tarantino Presents: Miami Vice is too much.

Based on my expectations:

Taken with no preconceptions:

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