Bad Boys II (2003)

Bad "Boys 2"
by Homer Yen
(c) 2003

It's kind of amazing that you can watch a 140-minute movie that is filled with nonstop car chases, combat, and cavalier cops and yet leave with no lasting impressions. Well, that's not totally true. It does leave some inexplicable questions that linger in your mind like an approaching headache. For example, how do the cops own such nice stuff on a cop's salary? Does Mike (Will Smith) have some sort of death wish? Is Marcus (Martin Lawrence) capable of endearing us to him at all? Do Miami cops care about civilian casualties? Finally, is it plausible for a band of officers from a Narcotics team to spontaneously travel from Miami to Cuba to orchestrate a bold rescue attempt that would be challenging for commandos? After all, it's not like they're going on a wild road trip. They're planning on taking on a drug lord with an army at his disposal!

"Bad Boys 2" is less about cops and teamwork as it is a mindless exercise in blowing up a whole lot of stuff. All of the mayhem is well-executed and the action sequences are as good as most other summer blockbuster action sequences. However, it's like a fancy book cover without anything between the covers. If the story was even half as interesting, you might have something watchable. However, if you take away those high-octane sequences, what you're left with is a lot of incomprehensible ranting and raving, posturing, and ego flaunting.

But the mass amount of destruction does not leave you without its valuable lessons. For example, if you are going to escape a squadron of police cars, it's always a wise idea to get yourself into a fully loaded car carrier. Then, at higher speeds, you can release the cargo onto the highway. Debris flies everywhere, 22 cars and a speedboat are destroyed, and Shadow Traffic has a story to tell for the remainder of tonight's and tomorrow morning's rush hour. And, if you are looking to make a hasty retreat from a drug lord's home, make sure you find a fully loaded Hummer. It's great for traveling across inhospitable terrain or for cutting a swath of hit-and-run destruction through a shantytown.

"Bad Boys 2" loosely incorporates elements of "Lethal Weapon" and "2 Fast 2 Furious." But it doesn't have the affable characters of LW nor the vicarious thrill of 2F2F. The script just doesn't give the actors anything to work with. Smith oozes charisma and poise as the serious tactician. Lawrence tries to be loose as the funny sidekick. They're more fun when they have an opportunity to rib each other. Unfortunately, the plot involves their disintegrating relationship, and as a result, they spend much too much time chiding and scorning each other.

Its biggest miscalculation is the film's unsuccessful attempt at crude humor. One ugly scene that sticks out is when a well-dressed young man comes to pick up Marcus's daughter for her first date. Mike also happens to be there and they proceed to question him, threaten him, discourage him, and anything else that can traumatize a young person. Another weird sequence involves a chase with a delivery truck full of cadavers. The back door eventually swing open and you can only imagine what you have to clean off your windshield. I could appreciate the action. But, I couldn't embrace the macabre humor nor the deficient storyline. Consider Bad Boys 2 to be criminal, and this film to be a bust.

Grade:        C-
S:        1 out of 3
L:        3 out of 3
V:        3 out of 3

==========
X-RAMR-ID: 35333
X-Language: en
X-RT-ReviewID: 1178040
X-RT-TitleID: 1123937
X-RT-AuthorID: 1370
X-RT-RatingText: C-