Today readers, I'm going to review a Michael Bay movie. Apologies in advance.
Yes Michael Bay is almost on par with M. Night Shyamalan when it comes to cinematic punchlines. Whenever you see either of their names in a movies pre-credits, you simply can't stifle a giggle. But it's not unjust; both have earned their negative reputation. But today's film I wasn't even aware was directed by Bay until doing research for movies for this blog. That's not the crazy thing however. What is crazy is that I really, really like this film, and I bet you do too. This is Bad Boys.
Released in 1995, and starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Tea Leoni and Joe Pantoliano, Bad Boys follows 2 police officers trying to track down a stolen drug stash by switching identities. Like most Bay films, it was an enormous financial success, but failed to please the majority of critics. In most regards, it's a guilty pleasure in every sense of the phrase, but with a completely over-the-top buddy cop crime caper starring Martin Lawrence, what else could you be expecting?
The movie opens with a group of masked criminals stealing a considerable volume of Heroin from a Miami Police Station. Mildy peeved by this, Police Captain Howard (Pantoliano) calls in 2 Narcotics Officers, handsome, smooth talking Mike Lowrey (Smith), and hot-headed family man Marcus Burnett (Lawrence). Did I mention this was buddy-cop movie?
With Internal Affairs convinced the raid was an inside job, and giving the cops only 5 days to recover the dope before the department is shut down, Lowrey & Burnett immediately start investigating. After an informant friend of Lowrey's is found dead with remnants of the stolen Heroin nearby, they discover a surviving witness from the crime scene, Julie (Leoni), who can identify the perpetrators. Unfortunately, she will only divulge her knowledge to Lowrey, who is out of action with a head injury. Desperate to find out what she knows, Howard orders Burnett to assume Lowrey's identity. Initially unconvinced, Julie rebuffs his attempts to help her, but eventually relents.
Well it's a Michael Bay film, so I guess we should begin with the negatives. The concept, old as history. The plot, weak and often incomprehensible. The action, same old. It's a tired formula pretty much on it's last legs. Nothing new, no nutrients added, no waste material removed.
But now the positives, because there are a few that stand out. First of all, the supporting performances. Not Oscar-worthy, but everyone does a convincing job in their respective role. Pantoliano as the perpetually frustrated Captain, and Julie as the reluctant informant and occasional damsel in distress. The villain, while clichéd, is good fun to watch. Even when he smiles and seems happy, an air of menace always following him, even if his ultimate motivation is nothing more than money.
But what makes this movie is it's 2 leads. Smith and Lawrence work off each other perfectly. It's very much the way you would go on at your best friends, slinging verbal abuse and taunts at one another, and at the end of the day saying 'So, see you tomorrow then?' Director John Singleton once said that you 'can't cast chemistry', and that true friendship between characters has to be natural in order to be realistic. This is very much the case here. The best parts of the film are watching Smith and Lawrence vocally toing-and-froing, unscripted in some cases. The screenplay is often very amusing, but Bay allegedly did not like significant portions of it, and encouraged Smith and Lawrence to free-associate, resulting in some of the films's funniest and most memorable scenes.
So, yeah, a worn-out formula, emphasised by raw Michael Bay vacuousness; but out of the muddy waters of unoriginality slither performances and dialogue that almost pull it's head above the water. If you had no idea Bay directed this, you would think it was dumb. If you did, you would know it was. Take it for what it's worth. Check it out and decide for yourself.
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