Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
Someone I trust recently told me this is Michael Bay’s best film, even if it does outstay its welcome by 20 minutes or so. I’m itchin’ to see that car chase, and I think this is going to be the last big-budget Hollywood film I see before I head up to Montreal and start mainlining crazy little horror films for ten days. Let’s see what our guest reviewer had to say...
Hey, Harry - haven't written a review for your site ever but I caught a screening of BAD BOYS 2 today and thought you might want yet another opinion on this flick.
BAD BOYS 2 was not on my "must-see" summer movie list. In fact, I wasn't planning on seeing it at all. But a few months ago, there were two extremely positive reviews for it at AiCN. These reviews promised the movie had what I wanted to see: R-rated action violence. This, along with the trailers for the film, were enough to sway my opinion to the point where I decided I'd check the movie out. Now, I am no Jerry Bruckheimer or Michael Bay fan - in fact, I typically can't stand their films. Also, I thought the first BAD BOYS was simply an average movie that couldn't decide if it was a comedy or an action movie, and was very slow moving.
I tell you all this because, even with my rather low expectations, I went in to the theatre and BAD BOYS 2 rocked my world. This film is an action fan's dream. If you like just about any conventional action movie device, this movie has it. Pistols, clips dropping, slow motion bullets, headshots, rocket launchers, exploding cars, submachine guns, helicopters, speed boats - EVERYTHING that Jerry and co. could cram into this movie, they stuffed it in. And it shows. BAD BOYS 2 is an action movie that forgot to take its Ritalin.
The closest thing I can compare it is EXIT WOUNDS. But BAD BOYS 2 even tops that flick for sheer insane, chaotic violence. Like EXIT WOUNDS, however, BAD BOYS 2 is *gleefully* violent. It revels in its violence. Remember the juicy scene in EXIT WOUNDS, when the goon is hanging onto the inside of an open van door when said door suddenly slams into a parked car? Remember that? There are a ton of moments like that in BAD BOYS 2, where you just go, "Ohhh!" at the carnage unfolding before your eyes.
The opening scene of a factory producing ecstacy in Amsterdam immediately sets the tone of the movie and lets you know that you're in for some major debauchery. The set pieces are so chaotic in BAD BOYS 2 that the only word I can think of to truly describe them is "mayhem". Ultra-violent mayhem. After THE MATRIX RELOADED and T3, I didn't think BAD BOYS 2 had a chance of having a car chase sequence that would still shock audiences during the middle of the summer. Well, I was wrong - dead wrong. The moment that boat breaks loose and begins spinning rapidly on the freeway - wow.
Now, I stated before that I'd never been a fan of Jerry or his pal Michael - and my main reason for this is their tendency to take Hong Kong action techniques and water them down, "Americanize" them if you will, causing them to lose their luster (like the end of the original BAD BOYS, for instance). But this time - they get it right. They don't water down anything - when a bullet splatters through some cronie's skull, you get the full effect. When someone is shot, they bleed. They bleed a lot. No one is going to confuse BAD BOYS 2 with HARD BOILED but for an American action flick, this is about as violent and gory as it gets. However, if you're some purist who is against the idea of Will Smith diving sideways while firing two pistols and you believe only Chow Yun Fat should be allowed to do that, well, this movie isn't going to change your mind. But for those of us who want to sit back and be entertained by gigantic production values, insane stunts, and slow motion gunplay with two trash-talking cops - BAD BOYS 2 delivers on all fronts.
BAD BOYS 2 is also a rather long film and some audience members may find it slow at parts. A person who walked out of the show behind me commented, "That should have been twenty minutes shorter." This pretty much comes down to your taste for Will and Martin's brand of comedy. Their individual tirades can be tiring during the heat of battle but when they hit their marks during the comedic sections of the film, it can be a lot of fun to watch (especially in the Circuit City-type store). Again, this depends on how much you like this brand of comedy. It's a continuation of the kind of jokes in the original BAD BOYS but definitely funnier. Personally, I thought a few scenes could have been trimmed (when Martin is high on ecstasy, the 'autopsy' sequence, etc.) but really, they provided laughs and gave you some time to breathe before the next action sequence ripped your eyelids off.
All in all, BAD BOYS 2 is an action movie without boundaries. There's laughs, there's explosions, there's pill-popping ravers, but most of all there is VIOLENCE. I can confidentally say that BAD BOYS 2 is the best American action film in quite some time. It has enough "ultra-violent mayhem" to satisfy even the most jaded critic and it contains the best "assualt-on-villain's-mansion" sequence since TRAGIC HERO with Chow Yun Fat. This is not a film that will make you think, it is not high art. It is what it is: Jerry Bruckheimer's ultimate tribute to the action genre.
-Bill Emic
Bill, stop! You’re making me giddy! Is it Friday yet?!?
"Moriarty" out.
