Has Miami Vice aged well?
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DroverChicago — 10 years ago(November 28, 2015 11:27 PM)
I'd say the only aspect that has "aged" well is that the show annihilated the thick veneer of innocence that still enveloped network television dramas well into the 1980s. In this show you see bad things happen to good people. You see bad things happen to completely innocent people. You frequently see it happen, or at least see the aftermath, in vivid detail. Sometimes the "bad guy" wins in the end, and he's rarely a "bad guy" you're rooting for. Sometimes the "good guys" step well over the ethical line to get things done there are very few saints even among the "good guys," though Lt. Castillo comes pretty close. It unapologetically portrays the war on drugs as a futile waste of resources and a significant contributor to government corruption, themes that still resonate to this day. Even the most jaded and cynical 21st-century viewer will walk away from many episodes thinking to themselves "Jesus, that was some heavy sh*t."
If you want a contemporary movie that captures the essence of this show, think less the
Miami Vice
remake and more along the lines of
Traffic
.
Everything else about the show from the fashions to the music to the dialog is a 1980s time capsule, though it's almost impossible to overstate how much this show shaped the popular culture of the decade. It was was on the leading edge far more than the trailing edge of 1980s trends. -
bishop-69757 — 10 years ago(January 03, 2016 06:48 PM)
I'm sure you have already made up your mind on watching it
Yes and No
The clothes, music and hairstyles feel so 80's
I'm fine with that but some people have trouble getting past it
The gun fights and special effects feel dated
I still love the show. cool characters and still a great escape.
The filming is still amazing. This was the first show as a kid that made a city feel like a character in the show and I remember at 5 years old wanting to move to FL so bad. -
thesnowleopard — 10 years ago(March 24, 2016 10:55 PM)
I've never understood the idea that a show "ages" well or badly based on cultural changes. The Twilight Zone is very much a child of the 50s, from the Cold War to McCarthyism, but it's still a watchable classic. It's like people complaining that a film has aged badly because it's in black-and-white. Just demonstrates a lack of imagination on the part of the viewer, if you ask me.
But since you're a fan of the 80s, this isn't likely to be a problem for you, since Miami Vice pretty much epitomized the dark side of the 80s and had excellent production values. They were even one of the first shows to film in stereo. Also, it's still syndicated and on DVD/Bluray with its original soundtrack (which is more than I wish could be said for Tour of Duty, another excellent 80s show with great music).
Also, from what I heard at the time (my dad was in the Coast Guard down there for a while), the show was not all that exaggerated. Undercover cops did dress up like pimps and do very dangerous drug busts. There was a lot of quick-and-dirty money floating about, a lot of instant millionaires with questionable backgrounds. Law enforcement was both embattled and corrupt as hell. This show caught the flavor of Florida as a Southern port with Caribbean connections (like Jimmy Buffett's "Everybody's Got a Cousin in Miami") and was one of the first network shows to have a regular multicultural cast, as well as two very tough female cop characters.
Also, it is very, very dark in tone. That just gets darker as the show goes along.
It is not much like the film, though it is better.
Innsmouth Free Press
http://www.innsmouthfreepress.com -
ccorraliza — 9 years ago(December 02, 2016 04:59 AM)
Catch a few minutes on El Rey Network now and then. I think it is rather cartoonish with the use of clothing, colors, brooding,over the top violence,etc.
Admit I never liked it when it first aired either. I live in Miami as well.