Miami Vice: Will the movie be as good as the website?

Trying to figure out a way to waste your last couple hours at the office today? Head on over to the website for the upcoming Miami Vice movie. We entered the "restricted site" although it seems that we are too desensitized to realize what content would not be suitable for all users. The site was recommended to us by a friend who lives in Miami. "Cool and makes me proud to be a Miamian with all the violence and grimey people," he said.

The movie opens July 28 (July 27 in Puerto Rico) but doesn't appear to have a China date, and we highly doubt it ever will (it opens in Japan on September 23). We don't usually like the big summer blockbusters, but we have to admit that we are kind of looking forward to this one. We used to watch Miami Vice religiously on TV -- box sets of which are available at many a friendly neighborhood DVD store in Shanghai. Back in the '80s, we owned the show's soundtrack and even remember admitting to liking Phil Collins and not getting laughed at. We were very happy to know that Michael Mann, the creator of the original Miami Vice would be responsible for the movie version and not someone whose name begins with a "bruck" and ends in a "heimer."

Anyway, the website is a decent time-waster, with video clips and nuggets of information like: "3.7% of 8th grade students in the United States report having tried cocaine." By the way, Colin Farrell looks more "white trash" than Don Johnson ever did. Grimey, indeed. And if you are worried about this movie having little to do with China -- as Shanghaiist was, ever so slightly -- it co-stars Gong Li (pictured), so there's your excuse. And if you do access the website at work, here's a tip: Put your headphones on.