Miami Vice: The Spence Edit

Tight. Taunt. Tense.

In other words, better than the original theatrical version.

Spence displays his master editing craftsmanship with cuts and rearrangements that are slick and seamless. The pacing is now slo-burn rather than glacial. The movie builds towards it's climax with deliberate purpose and greater impact. It actually now feels like a proper Michael Mann crime story.

However, it is impossible to watch this fan edit (or the original movie) and not compare it against the television series that it is based upon. As great as the casting of Fox and Farrell is on paper, onscreen they are vastly inferior to their tv counterparts in terms of chemistry and charisma for me. And while I know this is a "modernization", but when someone says MIAMI VICE to me, that translates as MTV COPS to my ear and sadly I find the film soundtrack to be lacking and unmemorable, which is a cardinal sin in my book lol. Cool synthwave/pop/rock is a key element of Miami Vice's DNA. Thankfully, Spence did include a version of Crockett's Theme and two versions of In The Air Tonight. I guess I just wish there might have been a couple more iconic music moments.

So while for me, this is not as good as the television show during it's high point, it is vastly superior to both the Theatrical and Director's Cuts. Spence has expertly transformed a misguided, meandering narrative into a gripping cop thriller.

Thumbs Up!

Huge Miami Vice fan here who did not like the movie and have held a grudge going on 17 years (holy cow!). I haven’t watched this movie in a couple of years, so after my viewing of it today, I can say that time has been kind to this movie and Spence helped elevate it even more. I couldn’t tell you what was cut (except for that weird shower sex scene) and I couldn’t hear a single audio blip. Spence has crafted an enjoyable ride with Crockett and Tubbs and it left me smiling when both versions of In the Air Tonight played.

Spence’s edit has helped make the movie feel like a modern take on Miami Vice without getting lost in its style due to somewhat of a lacking substance. My ONLY wish (and this is certainly NOT a strike against Spence) is that the edit used more Vice style music by incorporating some modern synth wave and maybe some of the original music somewhere.

If you’re a Miami Vice fan, you’ll immediately get hooked by Spence’s use of Crockett’s theme during the opening speed boat race!

Thanks Spence for finally bringing me around on liking this movie. Now, time to bust out my Vice DVD’s.