Year:
1995
Studio:
Columbia Pictures
Don Simpson/Jerry
Bruckheimer Films
Feature:
3/5
DVD:
2/5
Bad Boys is a more
or less typical cop buddy movie of the time period. In this case the
buddies are Detectives Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey
(Will Smith). Marcus is the family man, the relatively conservative
one. Mike is the ladies man and thrill-seeking action junkie. They work
for the Miami Police Department and apparently they're well known in
the department for their high kill counts and massive property damage.
The plot is that a group of criminals led by Fouchet (Tchéky
Karyo) break into the police department and steal $150M of drugs. This
is quite an embarrassment to the department so their two best
detectives are put on the job. Things quickly get personal when Mike's
girlfriend is murdered by the criminals and her roommate is the only
witness.
Due to some interesting circumstances that are at least
movie-believable, Marcus ends up impersonating Mike when he meets with
the witness, Julie (Téa Leoni). The criminals end up with some
info on Marcus so Mike is sent to protect Marcus' family and experience
the family life.
Car chases, gunfights, explosions and dead bodies all lead to a climax
at an abandoned airport hangar. It's a three-way fight between the
cops, the criminals, and the drug lords who want to buy the drugs.
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At the time I
thought this was a great movie. On rewatching it I still think it's a
good movie though the corniness stands out a bit more. It was a
low-budget movie at $9M (well, low budget for an a summer action movie)
and it did amazingly well. It's mostly because of Lawrence and Smith
who play off each other very well and carried the movie.
Extras
Commentary with Director Michael Bay. This commentary was done four
years after the movie. Bay notes that this was his first movie (though
he'd done lots of commercials) and it had a low budget, hence all the
mistakes that he points out have excuses. Overall though he doesn't
talk much which makes this a subpar commentary.
The Boom and Bang of Bad Boys. A 23-minute special focusing on the
practical special effects (gunfights and explosions, very little CGI).
I found it a bit too cutesy when it used movie clips to emphasize
points in attempt to appeal to a younger audience.
Music Videos
Diana King: "Shy Guy"
Warren G: "So Many Ways (Bad Boys version"
69 Boyz featuring K-Nock: "Five O, Five O (Here They Come"
Talen Files
Michael Bay, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, Mike Meinardus
Production Photo Gallery: 12 photos
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