Hey there guys, welcome back to a new throwback review! I know this one is a bit overdue but I am a man of my word so now after looking at Michael Bay’s directorial debut we will now be looking at his first ever sequel which of course follows up that movie, Bad Boys 2. Now if you read my review of the original you know that I quite liked it and found it to be a solid buddy cop movie with a great leading duo. So naturally I wouldn’t mind seeing a follow up with them back in the roles and plenty of other people felt that way which is why we got Bad Boys 2 just around 8 years later and while it was a solid hit financially, it didn’t exactly light the critical community on fire and has become a little infamous as one of biggest examples of a stereotypical Michael Bay movie. After seeing the movie I can say that it is definitely something all right! So let’s go and see what the boys are up to in would has become one of my biggest guilty pleasures in recent memories!
Taking place 8 years after the event of Bad Boys, trouble involving drugs is once again brewing in Miami and of course MPD narcotics divisions detectives, Mike Lowery, and Marcus Burnett are on the job. Things, however don’t go quite according to plan as Marcus is injured (from a bullet to the butt) during a shootout at a KKK rally, and it is found out that their target is not the distributor of the drugs. It is here when Marcus starts to question if he wants to be Mike’s partner anymore as he plans on moving to another unit. But that’s not the only secret being kept as Mike is secretly in a relationship with Marcus’s sister, Syd and is hesitant to tell Marcus about it. Oh and just when you thought there couldn’t be anymore secrets it turns out that Syd is going undercover for the DEA laundering money for a Russian mob gang who distribute the ecstasy for Cuban drug lord, Johnny Tapia who is not very happy with how his business is going at the moment. So can Mike, and Marcus be able to tell the truth to each other, and will they be able to put a stop to Tapia’s plans. All I can now is that pure insanity ensues throughout.
Whereas the first Bad Boys was a more grounded movie that focused more on character interactions with only a handful of action set pieces this one is pretty much the complete opposite of that. In terms the two of them are completely different as this one is bigger, more vulgar, and more bonkers than anything else with a story that just feels like its just there to hold everything else together. While I wouldn’t say the first one’s narrative was anything ground breaking at least it had a focus and made up for them with some strong character work, and comedy. Here its even more thin and just sounds really generic with the same sit com like story-lines like in the first (what with the “drama” between Marcus, Mike, and Syd) and yeah you can pretty much tell where those story-lines go. Not only that but Mike, and Marcus while flawed individuals still meant well in the original while here they are kind of jerks sometimes to not only one another but also to others as well for seemingly no good reason (Look at the infamous Reggie scene for instance) which didn’t go over too well with me. BUT even though it doesn’t really work as a sequel to Bad Boys that doesn’t mean there isn’t any entertainment that can found from it. Heck the fact that’s it just so insane, and bonkers is what makes it so much fun to watch as the movie is essentially just 2 and a half hours of big action sequences, and Mike, and Marcus arguing with each other. There are so many scenes that just come out of nowhere and are just so random that you just can’t help but burst out laughing (like the TV station scene, the rasta shop scene, the Woo sah scene, the Papa rat, and Mama rat sex scene, and a bunch more). The humor is very vulgar, and crass with a bunch of offensive sterotypes (one of the aspects of this film that hasn’t aged very well) and again its really hard not to at least somewhat amused by the film’s willingness to just go all out with it. Heck that is something I quite admire about it. Its like Michael Bay was treating as some sort of swan song to the hard R rated action movie (which thanks to events like the Columbine shooting, and Hollywood being obsessed with big budget tent poles wasn’t very common for some years after this movie) and just decided to go all out and make the biggest buddy cop movie ever. And I would say it does deliver what audiences would want from a movie like this so while I can’t say its very good in terms of writing at least it ain’t generic in terms of its execution that’s for sure!
To me if a movie’s focus is primarily on the action over everything else than it’s going to have to deliver on that promise. Whether or not the action here will work for you really depends on how you feel about Michael Bay’s particular style of directing. If your a fan of his you’ll most likely have a blast watching them, if not you’ll will most likely not even bother with it. As for me, well I mostly like the kinetic energy he puts into them (even if there is a bit too much editing at times) and like the movie itself he goes all out here. Now the action in the first Bad Boys was fine even though there really wasn’t an abundance of it while here Michael Bay just doubles down on everything here. Every single big set piece is appropriately huge and bombastic from the big KKK shoot out at the beginning, to the free way chase involving cars being thrown from a truck, to the shoot out involving the camera doing a 180 around it, to the car chase with corpses being thrown out onto the street, to Cuba being turned into an outright war zone! Its also just so ridiculous yet so much fun to watch and technically they all are pretty well done (I’ve always liked it when Michael Bay does car chases) with all of his signature explosions and scenes of slow motion galore. One thing about his more recent movies that I’ve never really been a fan of though is just how they look. Everything just looks really over exaggerated, and flashy (I love me some colors but his films just really exaggerate those features) and to me it’s always look kind of ugly and not very pleasant to look at. But like I said before there isn’t just a lot of action here, but also a whole lot of arguing between Marcus, and Mike here and just like the original they are still fun to watch. While the characters themselves are inferior since their conflict isn’t very well developed Will Smith, and Martin Lawrence still bring a lot of energy to their respective roles and have great chemistry with one another which once again provides the movie with a lot of great laughs. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Gabrielle Union (who has done a lot of high profile works since then) who, despite her best efforts, is woefully underused here as Syd, not getting much to do besides provide (very thin) conflict between Mike, and Marcus and eventually becomes a damsel in distress in the third act and she isn’t nearly as interesting or as fun a foil as Tea Leoni’s Julie in the first. And then there’s the big bad of the feature, Johnny Tapia, and not going to lie I actually liked him more than Fouchet from the original. Not because he’s a better character as he is just as generic, and one note a drug dealer as him, but because of how over the top he is and Jordi Molla is clearly having a blast hamming it up whenever he gets the chance (also enjoyed his constantly annoyed henchman, Roberto, played by Jon Seda) and the same goes for Peter Stormare in a brief but fun role as Russian criminal boss, Alexi. The rest of the cast don’t get too much to do with returning player like Joe Pantaliano as Captain Howard (who has one of the funniest scenes in the movie which involves him going on a huge rant), and former basketball player, John Salley, as a computer hacker in a clever bit of continuity from the first one making an impact. Still though at least everyone behind, and in front of the camera seems to be having fun.
When I finished first watching this, my initial reaction was “What the hell did I just watch?” which usually means this is going to be one of my biggest guilty pleasures ever isn’t it? And yes it still is. Bad Boys 2 may not be a good movie as it really doesn’t work as a sequel to the original, the plot is somehow even more thin, the drama is barely there, and yeah its kind of a mess. But its a very fun mess with large scale action, energetic direction from Michael Bay, a bunch of what the hell moments that make me die of laughter, Will Smith’s, and Martin Lawrence’s fun chemistry, fun performances from most of the cast, and a willingness to just go all out that’s kind of refreshing. Again this is ain’t some new classic and I acknowledge its many problems (hence the rating I’ll give it) but compared to other disappointing second installments (like Will Smith’s own Men in Black 2) this one is actually more fun than frustrating to watch and its oddly re-watchable. Again a major guilty pleasure that is for sure not for everyone but if you like Michael Bay, and big dumb action movies like this then I can see all of us having a good time with the Bad Boys.
Rating: C+
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