Bad Boys II (2003) Columbia/Action-Comedy RT: 147 minutes Rated R (strong violence and action, pervasive language, sexuality, drug content) Director: Michael Bay Screenplay: Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl Music: Trevor Rabin Cinematography: Amir Mokri Release date: July 18, 2003 (US) Cast: Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Jordi Molla, Gabrielle Union, Peter Stormare, Theresa Randle, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Shannon, Jon Seda, Oleg Taktarov, Yul Vazquez, Jason Manuel Olazabal, Otto Sanchez, Henry Rollins, Antoni Corone, Gary Nickens, Timothy Adams, Gloria Irizarry, Alissa Mullins-Diaz, Bianca Bethune, Scott Cumberbatch, Dennis Greene, Mason Rock Bay, Treva Etienne, Kiko Ellsworth, John Salley. Box Office: $138M (US)/$273.3M (World)
Rating: *** ½
Bad Boys II is that rare sequel that’s better than the original. It’s an action movie turned up to 11. No, make that 111. It’s bigger, louder and wilder. Despite its epic length (nearly two-and-a-half hours), the plot is simplicity itself. This sequel to the 1995 action-comedy starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as a pair of reckless Miami cops pits the guys against a Cuban drug lord flooding the city with ecstasy. Obviously, I haven’t provided all the details, but this one sentence will do nicely for now.
I realize I’m the minority with my love for Bad Boys II, but I can’t help myself. I love a good, violent action flick. Give me a large body count, crazy car chases and wild shoot-outs and I’m a happy camper. Returning director Michael Bay pulls out ALL the stops for this one. Other critics have described Bad Boys II as cruel, sadistic and misogynistic and maybe they’re right. I’ll concede that it’s not good cinema but it is a great movie, mindless entertainment to munch popcorn by. If you can make that distinction, chances are you’ll enjoy it.
You already know about the Cuban drug lord. His name is Johnny Tapia (Molla, Riddick) and he’s an evil SOB. He moves his product through nightclubs run by Russian mobster Alexei (Stormare, Fargo). After a botched operation involving the KKK, Burnett (Lawrence) and Lowrey (Smith) are given free reign by their captain (Pantoliano, The Matrix) to nail Tapia. At present, their longtime partnership is strained because they’re both keeping secrets from each other. Burnett plans to transfer to another unit where he’ll be assigned a new partner. Lowrey has been secretly dating Burnett’s younger sister Syd (Union, Bring It On), an undercover DEA agent working the same case as them. At one point, a Haitian street gang tries to steal Tapia’s money, an act that results in complete mayhem with an insane highway chase that outdoes the one in The Matrix Reloaded.
Let’s see, have I left anything out? Oh yeah, you won’t believe how Tapia smuggles his product in and out of the country. He owns a mortuary that he uses as a front for money laundering. Think about it for a minute. What do you find in a mortuary? Dead bodies, of course. Now what if the morticians did more to the corpses than embalm them? Are you starting to get the picture? Pretty f***ed up, isn’t it? Also, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the finale in which our heroes and an entire team of SWAT and DEA agents sneak into Cuba for a rescue operation. All I can say is “WHOA!”
Ordinarily, I frown on huge, loud, lumbering noisefests like Bad Boys II. I’ve long since had it with the Transformers movies (also directed by Bay, all 5!). With this one, it’s different. It had me from the moment Burnett and Lowrey reveal themselves at a KKK cross burning, guns drawn and ready to kill racist rednecks. It just gets better from there. There are two AWESOME car chases. I already mentioned the first one. In that one, the Haitians steal a carrier trailer and unleash new cars on the highway to aid their getaway. It’s wild. In the second, Burnett and Lowrey must dodge corpses being thrown from a mortuary transport vehicle. What a mess! Moments later, they’re ambushed by desks and other office furniture thrown from a second-story window of a bank. SWEET! This movie is way out of hand. I love it!
Need I bother talk about the acting? Lawrence and Smith have good chemistry even though the screenplay once again doesn’t give us much insight into their characters and their respective pasts. The only new things we learn are (1) Burnett has a sister and (2) Lowrey was a dentally challenged nerd in high school. Molla’s villain is clearly modeled after Scarface minus the cocaine and Michelle Pfeiffer. Pantoliano’s police captain still loves to yell at the guys. Union, who looks sexy in a bikini, is a nice addition to the cast. The cast gives the type of performances the movie calls for. I just wish there was a little less yelling and screaming.
Bad Boys II does have its funny moments. This time, we don’t get some contrived identity-swap scenario. What we do get is a couple of longtime friends dealing with personal issues that could end their partnership. Hardly original but it works a little better. Probably the funniest bit involves Burnett accidentally ingesting a couple of ecstasy tablets. He gets high as a kite, not a good way to be when asking your CO for a search warrant. I laughed more at this movie than I did the original.
As for the violence, some of it is quite extreme. In one scene, a man is literally blown to pieces by a land mine. What can I say? I’m a gorehound, I love that scene. Bad Boys II more than earns its R rating. It serves up generous amounts of action, destruction and mayhem. This is action moviemaking to the max. I realize that it’s cinematic junk food and is in no way good for me. I don’t care, I think it’s FREAKING GREAT! This is one time I don’t mind having my senses assaulted.
