Amazon.com video review:
Slick to a fault, this glossy action flick takes place in
sunny Florida, where Martin Lawrence and Will Smith play two cops--one
married with kids, the other a swinging bachelor. The two are forced
to trade places to foil criminal mastermind Fouchet (Tchéky
Karyo) who has stolen $100 million worth of heroin from a police
lockup. Violent, illogical, and filled with wall-to-wall profanity,
Bad Boys was the last film produced by the hit-making team of
Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer before Simpson's untimely death, and
marked the directorial debut of Michael Bay who followed up with The Rock. Bad
Boys will be of interest to action buffs and fans of Téa
Leoni, who makes one of her early screen appearances in the central
supporting role. --Jeff Shannon
Amazon.com video review:
Blockbuster star Will Smith and comedian Martin Lawrence shoot
rapid-fire lines and bullets in this cop caper directed by action
director Michael Bay. Mike Lowry (Smith) is a smooth-talking ladies
man and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) is happily married to his job as
well as his wife. As partners in the narcotics division of the Miami
police department, they have a reputation as two cops who don't play
by the rules. When two pallets full of seized heroin are stolen from
the police station, Mike and Marcus are put on the case. A girlfriend
of Mike's gets caught in the crossfire and her roommate, Julie
(Téa Leoni), becomes a material witness. She calls the police
pleading only to talk to Mike. Mike isn't around so to convince her to
cooperate, Marcus assumes Mike's identity, complicating matters as the
trio take down the bad guys.
There's plenty of pyrotechnics for the special-effects fans,
complicated gun battle choreography, and a large-scale dance-club
scene complete with exotic dancers--a device that's becoming some what
of a recurring charter in films directed by Bay. Lawrence and Smith
(who had yet been elevated to multimillion dollar box-office status)
deliver with comedic, foul-mouthed finesse. Téa Leoni gives a
strong performance as Julie, and Bad Boys also has good
supporting roles from Theresa Randle (Spawn, The Big
Hit) as Marcus's neglected wife and Tchéky Karyo (Addicted to Love)
as the mastermind behind the heist. --Shannon Gee
Amazon.com video review:
A cheerfully over-the-top action film, Bad Boys is
notable chiefly for the rapport between its two stars, Will Smith and
Martin Lawrence, as two Miami cops on the trail of a drug kingpin as
they try to protect a witness (Tea Leoni). Smith is the swinging
bachelor and Lawrence the family man, and both must juggle their
personal lives as they baby-sit the one chance they have to recover a
stolen drug shipment, save their jobs, and take down the drug
dealer. While the film is almost always implausible and its story is
something seen many times before, director Michael Bay (The Rock) keeps
things moving stylishly and at a feverish pace, as Smith and Lawrence
prove themselves a terrific comic pairing. Their odd couple banter
flies at a faster clip than the bullets and explosions, and becomes
the best reason to see this hyperbolic but entertaining action
flick. --Robert Lane
