Miami Vice (TV Series) Down for the Count: Part II (1987) User Reviews

Picks up steam after part one!

[mm-39 · 8/10 · 17 December 2023]

Part one had much story build up, and some cheesy over the top scenes to push the story forward for the tragic ending. Wow, what and ending build up for part two. Crocket and the team is in full revenge mode and the part one pushes part two into an exciting orbit. What works is the team effort, and a plot twist. One of the few episodes were a minor character with a short character arc of a belittling mean character who verbally beats up subordinates had such a big impact; more than any other of the series episodes. The Giulinni characters adds fear, mob talk, and a hit to bubbles the plot into and exciting simmer. Guzmans over the top antics is fun to watch as the character just runs with the role and adds a spice for a memorable episode. The climax mixed with 80's music mixed with violence with a conflicted Stan Switek character make for a great ending.

Justice for Zito

[Tweekums · 10/10 · 6 May 2012]

When I first watched this episode the opening came as a bit of a surprise; I was expecting a cop out where Zito would have merely unconscious but no; for the first time since Lt. Lou Rodriguez was killed in the early episodes of season one a major character was dead. This was harder hitting though as we'd known the character much longer and it looked as though the official version of events would state that he died of a self-inflicted drug overdose that than murder. The team, especially Switek, is understandably hit hard by the loss and vow to both clear Zito's name and bring Guzman to justice. There is a complication though; it's not just the police after Guzman; he is in the sights of the Las Vegas Mafia who consider South Florida their territory and intend to have him killed along with his associates Sonny Burnett and Rico Cooper... AKA Crockett and Tubbs!

This was a top quality episode with a great story and some impressive action. It was poignant how Zito's death was dealt with; the scene where Crockett and Tubbs were in his apartment, for the first time ever, was particularly touching. The introduction of the Mafia to the story could have been cliché but I thought it worked here. The action included the best car chase we've seen for some time; it culminated in a couple of impressive crashes too! There was also a thrilling shoot out at the end that featured cops, Mafia hit-men and Guzman's associates blasting away at each other in a shopping mall. The acting was solid as usual; Michael Talbott was particularly good playing the grieving Switek. Over all this is a superlative episode... just make sure you watch part one first though!

That's not Tubbs!!!

[bunnyluv24 · 10/10 · 23 February 2008]

I was really hurt that this 2 part episode had to come at the expense of Zito dying. What I found more interesting was that a stand-in was used in one of the major action scenes. During the final action sequence in the shopping mall, Crockett and Tubbs both have driven their own cars to the scene. If you look closely, the man that jumps out of the Cadillac is not Tubbs, but some stand-in. You even see the same guy when he draws his gun. He looks nothing like Tubbs, and actually looks a lot older. Tubbs is not seen throughout the entire shooting bonanza, but later on on Crockett's boat. I wonder why PMT wasn't available for that scene?