#1 Cheap Bad Boys [Blu-ray] Reviews
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Your average Michael Bay film is like a model. There's not much meat on the frame and everything you see has no other purpose than to look really good. When a Michael Bay film comes out people deride it for being little more than a pyrotechnics display committed to film, and yet everyone and their grandma lays down the cash for a ticket to see it in theatres. Because Bay doesn't make films, he makes spectacles. He creates things to be stared at with no expectation beyond that it be visually captivating. Consequently, the films tend to have incredibly low concept plots. Giant robots want to destroy the world. Giant meteor wants (does it have a choice?) to destroy the world. More giant robots want to destroy the world. The Japanese want to destroy Hawaii. Ex-military types want to destroy California with bio-weapons.
Every now and then Bay produces something a little higher minded, but it doesn't always matter that it has a head on its shoulders, because people are still just watching for the flash. What's odd is that one of the meatier films Bay ever produced was also his first feature-length production. Bad Boys put Will Smith and Martin Lawrence into the well-worn buddy cop flick paradigm (aimed more at action than comedy this time around) and found the combination to work wonders. Both Smith and Lawrence had charisma to spare as the partnered eligible bachelor and married man, respectively. Their chemistry and the incomprehensible number of fast cuts would prove to be the film's savior as the story turned out to be little more than a flimsy excuse for gunfights, embarrassing one-liners, fast cars, and gigantic explosions.
0 million in drugs has just been stolen by Fouchet (Tcheky Karyo) and his crew, who plan on quadrupling its value and making a fortune on the black market. Officers Mike Lowery (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) get caught up in the scheme when one of Lowery's lady friends gets killed by Fouchet and her roommate, Julie (Tea Leoni), will only talk to Mike. Mike isn't available, so Marcus impersonates him, the duo switches lives for awhile, and they eventually investigate their way to the final firefight and car chase, with their police captain (Joe Pantoliano) harping on them all the way through.
I remember when Disney announced a movie based on the plot-less Pirates of the Caribbean ride. People mocked it, and it ended up rocking the box office. Well, this is a cop action flick based on an incredibly stupid, simplistic jingle. The film isn't above having its characters sing said song, or against playing it multiple times throughout. Yet, this is really only a minor gripe in light of the cinematography.
This was Bay's biggest project coming off a string of music videos which, as a genre, have a basic style guideline of fast cuts. Naturally, Bay used this as the basis for Bad Boys and at times it's dizzyingly effective, after all, there really isn't a better way to film an action scene if you want to capture that adrenaline pump. The fast cuts create an artificial excitement on top of the gunfire and the fast driving. It's a tool that Bay learned to use. The action sequences of Bad Boys are quite good, though not at the same level as some of his later films where he perfected the transition of the fast cut to a motion picture format (which happened somewhere midway through his next film, The Rock). Another noticeable foible of the film is the extensive use of the rotating shot. Bay must've thought it was incredibly dynamic, but it gets rather obnoxious after the fourth or fifth time. With good action sequences that puts 50% of the film in good standing. Unfortunately the other 50% is comprised of disgustingly clichéd cop dialogue and disappointing banter between Lawrence and Smith.
The two actors clearly had chemistry, and it was allowed to shine through better in the worse, though more polished sequel. But in the original Bad Boys the two jokers ramble off dialogue written for two black cop caricatures with little or no thought paid to substance. A few funny jibes come through, but otherwise it just falls flat. And, while the lead duo may have excellent rapport, there's no denying that Smith outshines Lawrence at every turn. You can try to say the part for Smith was just written better, but it also has a lot to do with Lawrence being the weaker half.
Visually the film is incredibly sparkly and looks crisp and vivid on Blu-ray. The explosions look and sound terrific, making a solid case for Bay's releases being superb examples of what Blu-ray can do for a film (even if the film's have little else to recommend them beyond their looks).
Blu-ray Bonus Features
3 hip hop music videos and a decidedly funny audio commentary with Michael Bay are the first two-thirds of the disc's main extras. The meatier portion comes in the form of a 24-minute documentary about the special effects used in the film. What makes the featurette especially fun is the artists talking about the extra steps involved in making collisions and explosions that might otherwise be boring in actuality, turn into Bay-worthy spectacles. The film also offers an IQ option for viewing the film which essentially adds a running trivia track, in case you get bored during the movie.
Bad Boys [Blu-ray] Overview
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Ent Release Date: 06/01/2010 Run time: 119 minutes Rating: R
fantastic movie - ferry -
i love this movie very much, good acting good cinematography. I had this movie from laser disk and then upgraded to DVD and then to bluray in order to have a good quality picture and sound. About the movie, dont hestitate to own. You will not regret because the action is fisrt class and funnier than ever :)
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