Bad Boys II (2003)
Directed by Michael Bay
Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey of the Miami Narcotics Task Force are tasked with stopping the flow of the drug Ecstasy into Miami. They track the drugs to the whacked-out Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia, who is also involved in a bloody war with Russian and Haitian mobsters. If that isn't bad enough, there's tension between the two detectives when Marcus discovers that playboy Mike is secretly romancing Marcus’ sister, Syd.
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However, for a film as wildly overscaled as this to succeed, it has to either use its excesses in order to make a point (as Steven Spielberg did in his underrated "1941", where the over-the-top approach was meant to mirror the hysterics that the United States falls into at the slightest hint that its superiority in the world is threatened) or by having fun with its absurdities (as Michael Bay himself did in his cheerfully goofy epics "The Rock" and "Armageddon") Here, though, there is no point and no humor to be had-the excesses exist only because Bay managed to convince Sony Pictures to give him zillions of dollars and he was hell-bent on spending every single cent because he could.
The end of Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Zabriskie Point” was the director’s fantasy of the destruction of America, except that instead of people dying we saw only consumer goods blowing up — a shallow piece of Euro non-thought about U.S. In “Bad Boys II,” we see a long chase sequence along the Florida freeways with cars flying and crashing into one another, being squeezed into tinfoil along a guardrail, running over each other, bursting into flame.
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer drafted the blueprint for this sort of thing with Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and struck pay dirt again with Bad Boys (1995); this sequel, directed by right-hand man Michael Bay, is as sour and jaded as they come.
He had better rip off his badge like Gary Cooper in High Noon and get into that jockstrap —fast.
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Bay has Smith shooting with a gun in each hand, a la Chow Yun-Fat; a creative twist on the car/truck sequences in "Tokyo Raiders" and "The Transporter"; bullet-time tracking; and a rumble through dilapidated Cuban shacks that�s suspiciously like Jackie Chan careening through a tenement at the beginning of "Police Story."
The cover for their sting operation is blown, and it turns into a massive gunfight that culminates with a car barreling down the hill through numerous buildings as explosions go off left and right (if this sounds familiar, Michael Bay lifted it wholesale for 2003’s Bad Boys II).
This sequence was later homaged in a big way by Bad Boys II , but certainly not topped.
Perhaps most notable about this sequence is the car chase down a hill, which demolishes the entire village in the process – an explosive, memorable stunt that is completely stolen by “Bad Boys II” many years later, to a shocking degree.
The first "Bad Boys" was modest by comparison, a cliched-but-energetic riff on "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Lethal Weapon."
Producer Jerry Bruckheimer drafted the blueprint for this sort of thing with Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and struck pay dirt again with Bad Boys (1995); this sequel, directed by right-hand man Michael Bay, is as sour and jaded as they come.
It's entirely possible that Shelton and co-writer Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight) intended to do the same for Bad Boys II by turning in an ordinary buddy cop movie but making it so violent and repugnant that the buddy cop movie genre would finally keel over and expire.
But the final credit goes to Jerry Stahl ("Permanent Midnight") and Ron Shelton.
But the real problem for partners Marcus (Lawrence) and Mike (Smith) turns out to be the Russian's even crazier Cuban supplier, Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla), who seems to have seen the "Scarface" remake a few times too many.
The ringleader behind the Ecstasy is Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla), a Cuban drug kingpin who seems to have based his manner (and accent) on Al Pacino in "Scarface".
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Miami cops Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Will Smith: Men in Black II , The Legend of Bagger Vance ) hunt down a Cuban drug smuggler (Jordi Mollà: Blow ) using John Ashcroft-approved methods that make Die Hard's cowboy cop John McClane look like Andy Griffith: disdain for cooperation with other policing agencies like the DEA, dismissal of the necessity of formalities like search warrants.
In fact, with the charismatic Will Smith and Martin Lawrence trading sharp repartee layered with the male-patterned boldness that is a trademark of Ron Shelton�s screenplays, "Bad Boys II" is sooo late �80s-early �90s, when a "Die Hard" or "Lethal Weapon" movie would pack �em in.
The first "Bad Boys" was modest by comparison, a cliched-but-energetic riff on "Beverly Hills Cop" and "Lethal Weapon."
Smith and Lawrence make a sassy enough duo, even if they are just retreads of the Lethal Weapon pairing.
In fact, with the charismatic Will Smith and Martin Lawrence trading sharp repartee layered with the male-patterned boldness that is a trademark of Ron Shelton�s screenplays, "Bad Boys II" is sooo late �80s-early �90s, when a "Die Hard" or "Lethal Weapon" movie would pack �em in.