Gong Li spices up Miami Vice
In the 1980's I used to watch Miami Vice every week on TV. You can say I was a fan of the series. I also watched the re-runs a couple of years ago. So when I heard Michael Mann was doing a remake for the cinema, I was very enthusiastic! So yesterday I went to see it. Unfortunately the movie isn't as good as the series, but if you like fast boats, cars, beautiful women and crime stories, you will probably have a great two hours.
What really made it worth while for me was the sudden appearance of this Asian woman, which I immediately recognized as Gong Li. Then I thought, NO! This can’t be her; she just looks too young to be Gong Li! Well, it was her alright! As you can imagine, Gong Li as lead female role in this favourite series of mine, really got me all excited. She did a great job as drug dealer-boss and Sonny's love interest. Why did nobody tell me she was in the movie?!
Nice soundtrack also, but too bad they didn't hire Jan Hammer. And thank God there is not an R&B soundtrack like a lot of these movies have nowadays. Go see it! (Just ignore the 6.1 it gets at IMDB.com ;-))
Just for the record; Gong Li was born 31 December 1965 in Shenyang, China. So that makes her 40 years old. Well, she looks like 30 to me.
We have featured Gong Li before at Asian-Sirens here and here.
Official Miami Vice site. (Trailers, clips, photos and great wallpapers!)
COMMENTS
I admit I was expecting something like Bad Boys and was sadly disappointed. But otherwise it was a good movie. Gong Li was a blessing and looked great in the movie. Very hot!!
Didn't care much for Bad Boys. I liked this one better. Michael Mann succeeded in catching the 'Miami Vice vibes' for let's say 50%. I think I would have liked it better if Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas had played their original characters. But I guess they are too old for that. But at least Edward James Olmos (Lt. Martin Castillo) could have played his role again! A missed chance.
I liked it but then I'm a Michael Mann fan. I understand he pursured Gong Li long and hard to get her to appear. I was rather surprised she had so much screen time (and dialogue) considering she wasn't billed as a star. I believe she was actually on the screen more than Jamie Foxx.
Besides the fact she was hot- I loved that light lipstick she wore most of the time, I thought her speech was excellent considering she doesn't speak a word of English.
What I found interesting about choosing her is that they almost had to teach her English for the part. I would have thought they could find another asian actress to so the same thing with a lot less effort in the dialogue coaching. As a fan of the old show I don't know that I will see this one. Maybe on video. She is quite striking looking indeed in the photos here.
I'm repeating one of my comments from another Gong Li posting:
Gong Li was in a 1997 film called "Chinese Box" that I liked a lot. Here is the IMDB listing:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118851/
This is a great film set in Hong Kong during the time China is about to take back possission of Hong Kong.
Gong Li looks very pretty in this film and I believe it is one of her few english speaking roles. The overall story is very interesting too.
I highly recommend it as a rental if you have not seen it!
:-)
I first saw Gong Li in the 1995 movie "Shanghai Triad". That was 10+ years ago and she was simply stunning. I subsequently saw another 1/2 dozen of her movies and was always impressed with her great beauty, even in roles where they had her pregnant or otherwise not dressed for show. But true beauty always shines through. Guess I'll have to go see "Miami Vice" just to renew an old love affair.
Northman,
Gong Li is one of my favorite actresses but to be honest I thought her weakest acting was in "Chinese Box". That was her first english speaking role and I think that she put so much effort into speaking english that she couldn't express herself as she has done in so many other films. I looked at a few video clips from "Miami Vice" and she appears to have learned how to express herself very well in English with a Cuban accent to boot!
Nonetheless, it was interesting to see Gong Li dressed in western clothes for the first time on screen (in "Chinese Box").
I did like "Chinese Box" overall though but IMHO Maggie Cheung blew everyone else away acting wise.
My laundry list , i think , list of what men really want in life : ferraris , super charged speed boats, fast private airplanes, sunglass , and beautiful asian women by our side ! lol... Yea Robin, i think she was great in this movie , with little english she knows , she pulled it off, but her best acting was throught her body language !
Hi Badboy...I agree regarding the Chinese Box movie. Overall it was a great film and Maggie Cheung blew away Gong Li as far as acting. It was nice to see Gong Li's pretty face though. But yeah, her character was not exciting at all!
Again, to folks who have not seen Chinese Box, it's definitely worth a look. It's a good story with lots of real life scenes of Hong Kong; from high class parties to gritty street life. Check it out.
she has aged so well! :-)
I saw Chinese Box a couple of years ago. It was okay.
i love gong li..especially in Raise the Red Lanterns....why cant we more than one wife? :)....again an exotic asian woman paired with a dick of a Gaijin...it is not so bad that it was a Gaijin but Colin asshole Farell?....didnt you guys see him in Alexander?...what a dick:)...i would have more respect for the movie had they paired Gong Li with Jammie Fox..at least he is a better actor....where is Bruce Lee when we need him:)
Holy shit, Gong Li with a Cuban accent???
No creo!! I will have to go see this now...
I did not see that one, butI did see this one, Gong Li's played a great role in the movie 2046!! a must see http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0212712/
badboy, oh man. I went and saw this today,... and while they explained the Chinese Cuban issue quite well... Li Gong didn't sound anything like any Cuban I've ever heard!!! Nor did she dance like one! Except for the variety of Cuban known as the Chinese actress, hired to play a Cuban for god only knows what reason...
She had some nice sunglasses though. And lots of pouty faces. That probably sealed the deal for the casting directors.
"Holy shit man, look at her pout!!...."
ranacubana, sorry that Gong Li's attempted Cuban accent while speaking English didn't live up to your expectations. I guess her Chinese accent overwhelmed it.
I read that the director Michael Mann always wanted to work with Gong Li so probably put a lot of effort into recruting her. They have a funny behind the scenes video clip with the director trying to explain something to Gong Li through an interpreter even though the interpreter doesn't speak Mandarin chinese (only Cantonese). Gong Li talks about doing an improv scene where she takes off all her clothes and takes a shower!!!!
badboy...maybe Mr. Mann wants some nookie, nookie....why else to cast a chinese to do a Cuban character...do we even looked Cuban to them?
Hi there,i watched the movie in South Africa and really liked it. The good music, fast boats, cars and lots of money is what life is all about.
Where can i get hold of the music that was played during the movie? Is it available somewhere? Can anyone help?
Thanks
Gawie
Wuxi, Jiangsu, China