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Craig Younkin
Movie Review
Bad Boys II
By Craig Younkin Published July 20, 2003
US Release: July 18, 2003
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Martin Lawrence , Will Smith , Gabrielle Union , Joe Pantoliano
R
Running Time: 146 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $138,500,000
Directed by: Michael Bay
Starring: Martin Lawrence , Will Smith , Gabrielle Union , Joe Pantoliano
R
Running Time: 146 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $138,500,000
D
The dumbest action movie to hit theaters this year
In 1995, Bad Boys launched the careers of Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and director Michael Bay. In 2003, Bad Boys 2 is a movie that drives a nail right into their coffins.
Not only is this an outrageously mind-numbing movie, but it also seems to be so far removed from the original that at times I thought I was watching something completely different.
The characters remain the same, only now with different jobs and more problems. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) are now part of Miami's Tactical Narcotics Team, a job offered to them presumably after their big drug bust in the first film. But that drug bust has also weighed down on them emotionally, especially Marcus ? he?s now in therapy for that and also because Mike's renegade ways have started to scare him; he is so overstressed that he is thinking of breaking up the partnership.
He first must deal with one more case that hits pretty close to home; large shipments of ecstasy have been coming into Miami and Marcus' DEA Agent sister (Gabrielle Union) is getting awfully close to the kingpin. The guys feel a duty to stay close and protect her, but to the shagrin of their captain (Joe Pantoliano), their exploits always lead to a messy story on the ten o'clock news.
For a movie that clocks in at two-and-a-half-hours, this all seems pretty minimal, and it is ? this movie is a literal wreck. It moves from one big car chase to the next, stopping only for explosions, gun battles, and truly gruesome scenes featuring dead bodies (and there are many of them, surprisingly). Most people can say that you don't need story to have fun with things like this, but when it comes to this length, it's mind-numbingly boring.
Director Michael Bay can't even set a decent tone for this junk ? it goes from trying to be a stupid lowbrow, bottom of the barrel comedy to being an overly serious action drama from scene to scene. And the script by Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl is so painfully unfunny that neither Lawrence or Smith have free reign to have some fun with their characters, which made their chemistry in the first one so enjoyable; they don't even seem worth caring about anymore. Smith's Mike Lowrey has lost his comic charm, and now just looks like a big screen tough guy with too much adrenaline; and Lawrence's Marcus Burnett is now just a whiney sidekick.
Bad Boys 2 is by far the dumbest action movie to hit theaters this year, and by the time it's over you may need to start chanting the same word as most of the characters did: "Whoosah, whoosah, whoosah". If you see the movie, you'll understand.
Not only is this an outrageously mind-numbing movie, but it also seems to be so far removed from the original that at times I thought I was watching something completely different.
The characters remain the same, only now with different jobs and more problems. Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) are now part of Miami's Tactical Narcotics Team, a job offered to them presumably after their big drug bust in the first film. But that drug bust has also weighed down on them emotionally, especially Marcus ? he?s now in therapy for that and also because Mike's renegade ways have started to scare him; he is so overstressed that he is thinking of breaking up the partnership.
He first must deal with one more case that hits pretty close to home; large shipments of ecstasy have been coming into Miami and Marcus' DEA Agent sister (Gabrielle Union) is getting awfully close to the kingpin. The guys feel a duty to stay close and protect her, but to the shagrin of their captain (Joe Pantoliano), their exploits always lead to a messy story on the ten o'clock news.
For a movie that clocks in at two-and-a-half-hours, this all seems pretty minimal, and it is ? this movie is a literal wreck. It moves from one big car chase to the next, stopping only for explosions, gun battles, and truly gruesome scenes featuring dead bodies (and there are many of them, surprisingly). Most people can say that you don't need story to have fun with things like this, but when it comes to this length, it's mind-numbingly boring.
Director Michael Bay can't even set a decent tone for this junk ? it goes from trying to be a stupid lowbrow, bottom of the barrel comedy to being an overly serious action drama from scene to scene. And the script by Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl is so painfully unfunny that neither Lawrence or Smith have free reign to have some fun with their characters, which made their chemistry in the first one so enjoyable; they don't even seem worth caring about anymore. Smith's Mike Lowrey has lost his comic charm, and now just looks like a big screen tough guy with too much adrenaline; and Lawrence's Marcus Burnett is now just a whiney sidekick.
Bad Boys 2 is by far the dumbest action movie to hit theaters this year, and by the time it's over you may need to start chanting the same word as most of the characters did: "Whoosah, whoosah, whoosah". If you see the movie, you'll understand.
Craig's Grade: D
Craig's Overall Grading: 340 graded movies
| A | 10.9% | |
| B | 41.8% | |
| C | 31.8% | |
| D | 15.3% | |
| F | 0.3% |
'Bad Boys II' Articles
- Gareth's review B
July 18, 2003 A summer action film that delivers -- Gareth Von Kallenbach
