Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 6, 2023

Mill Creek and Wal Mart have collaborated on a store exclusive Blu-ray SteelBook release for Director Michael Mann's 2006 big screen adaptation 'Miami Vice.' It appears that Mill Creek has recycled the video and audio presentations from its own previous release, which was only available as part of a double feature. That issue was featureless, but now Mill Creek has released the film with all of the supplemental features that were included in a previous release by Universal in 2008. Note that this new Mill Creek disc also includes two cuts of the film whereas the original Mill Creek release included only the 132-minute theatrical cut. See the 'Special Features and Extras' section of the review below for more on included supplements and the SteelBook's look and feel.

For a full film review, please click here; note that this link points to the original Universal release.

Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

It appears that Mill Creek has simply ported over the same transfer from the previous double feature Blu-ray. For convenience that review is recreated below:

Normally, something that looks as poor as Miami Vice would instantly draw the collective videophile world's ire and anger. The movie does not look "good" by any stretch of the imagination. Is it another lower grade Mill Creek transfer? No, this is Michael Mann's vision for the film, for better or for worse. Flickering is commonplace, soft focus and smeary edges abound, and dense noise permeates the entire frame in virtually every shot. Honestly, it looks like a botch job, but this is more or less the picture Director Michael Mann and Cinematographer Dion Beebe composed and shot for the film. The original Universal Blu-ray looks very similar. Dating all the way back to 2006, the Blu-ray.com review states, "much has been made of the visual look at this movie and complaints have echoed across just about every internet forum where Miami Vice has been mentioned. Michael Mann and cinematographer Dion Bebee shot the movie entirely on HD video, much like Mann's prior film Collateral. The outrage that has erupted over Miami Vice seems to stem from its noisy and gritty look. Indeed, it is a messy looking movie." "Messy" is certainty an apt description, and with a picture that is so inherently sloppy, by design, it's difficult to "fault" any step of the process beyond the source. But if this is Miami Vice as Mann intended, and it most certainly all but is, all criticism can essentially be thrown out the window. Integrity to the source is always the most desirable yield from a Blu-ray.

Detail is hardly what one would consider "robust." On Blu-ray, the picture's best asset is its resolution. The 1080p horsepower at least brings a level of essential clarity to the proceedings, as oftentimes hindered by its own stylistic choices as it may be. Blu-ray allows what's here to look as crisp and well defined as possible, but viewers can forget about finding truly intimate detail and finely defined textures even in close-up. Basic hair and stubble definition, pores, and clothing materials show basic detail without diving deep into what's really there. Colors are likewise all over the place, from subdued to hot. Contrast fluctuates from scene to scene under any and all lighting conditions. Black levels are soupy and sloppy, absorbing and crushing detail in some scenes and looking pale and flat in others. The movie is all over the map, visually. Whether this is identical to the Universal disc is unclear, but it's awfully close if it's anything. It's likely the Mill Creek disc's compression is not up to par, if only for the fact that it shares a disc with another full-length film, but with a movie as aggressively messy as this to begin with, spotting any additional issues is a difficult proposition.

Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

It appears that Mill Creek has simply ported over the same soundtrack from the previous double feature Blu-ray. For convenience that review is recreated below:

The included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is likewise similar to Universal's. While it lacks polish and sophistication it's appropriately robust and detailed, offering expressive world details, pulse-pounding music, and hard-hitting gunfire. Much of the track's best can be found in the first act. A club sequence to open the film makes for a stellar listening experience: the deep, penetrating beats; the high volume output; and the wide front and surround engaging spacing make for a sonically vivid and satisfying experience. A few minutes later, .50 caliber rifle shots and small arms fire rip through the stage -- and a car and flesh -- with intense depth and power, not to mention full-stage saturation. The track hits hard as necessary, offers finer environmental ambience and lighter score as the situation warrants, and delivers clear, well prioritized, and center positioned dialogue for the duration.

Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unlike the previous double feature Mill Creek release, which was featureless, this new version contains a slew of supplemental content, all of which has been ported over from the old Universal disc. Also included is a 1080p theatrical trailer that is new to this issue. Please click here for more coverage. Note that there are some errors and poorly labeled headings on that review that makes a comparison a little tricky to navigate, but I have verified from my own copy of the Universal disc that the supplements here match the supplements there.

• Miami Vice Undercover (480i, 13:02)
• Miami & Beyond: Shooting on Location (480i, 10:00)
• Visualizing Miami Vice (480i, 12:41)
• Behind the Scenes Featurettes (480i):
  
  
  • Gun Training (2:46)
  • Haitian Hotel Camera Blocking (2:57)
  • Mojo Race (4:29)
• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Michael Mann.
• NEW! Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:54).

The SteelBook is very cool...literally. It's bathed in shades of blue and gray. The front panel features Crockett and Tubbs speeding down a Miami freeway in an exotic sports car with some palm trees, the city skyline, and a cloudy sky behind them. The film's title appears top center in a rectangular box, which also features Foxx, Farrell, and Mann billing. The rear panel is a familiar composition featuring Crockett and Tubbs headshots, both sporting sunglasses, the former looking down and the latter looking towards the camera. The spine is blue with the film's title in white, center, again in a rectangular box. A small image of Crockett and Tubbs appears at the top while white Universal, Mill Creek, and Blu-ray logos appear at the bottom.

Inside, the lone Blu-ray disc sits on its own hub on the right side. The two panels are arranged to show Tubbs on the left and Crockett on the right, each against a gray background and looking opposite directions. The words "no law" appear on the left and "no order" appear on the right.

Miami Vice Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

This is the new definitive version of Miami Vice on Blu-ray. The picture and sound are fine for the movie's style, all of the extras from the Universal disc are here (plus a trailer), and the SteelBook looks fantastic. Highly recommended.