Whatcha gonna do? Marcus Burnett is a henpecked family man. Mike Lowrey is a footloose and fancy free ladies’ man. Both Miami policemen, they have 72 hours to reclaim a consignment of drugs stolen from under their station’s nose. To complicate matters, in order to get the assistance of the sole witness to a murder, they have to pretend to be each other.
Written by Dean Zarbaugh II
Growing up, I was a huge fan of Will Smith, and a lot of his work (more on that, later). Near the top of that list is both Bad Boys films. They’re fun, balls-to-the-wall action movies filled with memorable jokes, a cast with amazing chemistry, and bad guys that you can’t wait to see get their comeuppances. Let’s start with the first one, shall we?
Michael Bay brings his talents to South Beach. After directing TV commercials, including the original “got milk?” ad titled “Aaron Burr” and music videos for Meat Loaf’s “I Would Do Anything For Love,” and “Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are,” super producers Jerry Bruckheimer and Don Simpson hired Bay to direct Bad Boys and leave his mark on cinema just as he did music videos and commercials. Bay delivered. From the opening sequence and that iconic shot of the plane flying over the Miami billboard, you know you’re in for a couple of hours of action/comedy thrills. It holds up remarkably well, even after nearly 50+ viewings, and controversy surrounding one of its stars. I found myself laughing and reacting as if it was my first time watching.
Obviously being a Michael Bay vehicle, the film is a feast for your eyes packed with car chases, gun fights, beautiful women, and the gorgeous city of Miami. Michael Bay is a fairly derisive filmmaker, with a lot of people writing his work off as “mindless schlock,” but like him or hate him, he put people in the seats from the mid-1990s through the late 2010s. Films like Bad Boys, The Rock, or Armageddon might not be high art, but they are entertaining to watch and elicit genuine reactions from the audiences watching them, and that shouldn’t be dismissed. It should be embraced. Michael Bay walked so Marvel and DC could run. They’re the types of movies that are helping keep cinemas alive and well in an age of streaming and digital content. Hell, Armageddon features one of the best audio commentaries of all time with a brutally honest Ben Affleck talking about going to Michael Bay with a note:
“I asked Michael why it was easier to train oil drillers to become astronauts than it was to train astronauts to become oil drillers, and he told me to shut the fuck up,” Affleck says on the DVD track.
“So that was the end of that talk.
Absolute gold. Anyway, back to Bad Boys…
The idea that all movies have to be filled with layers of subtext is a misguided one pushed by the types of people who would be boring as fuck to have at a party. After a long day at work, sometimes all I want is to unwind and watch some shit blow up and bad guys get annihilated. I don’t want to have to think about or analyze the movie, (this review not withstanding) I simply want to sit back and relax and turn my brain off. In that moment, I turn to Michael Bay. He understands what regular every day audiences enjoy and gives it to them: high octane thrills, heart-pounding action, and a dash of humor to keep things fresh. He knows how to keep people glued to the big screen and moves things along at breakneck speed.
Bay teams with veteran cinematographer Howard Atherton who had previously lensed films like Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal. Together, they bring out that same sultriness that Miami has become synonymous for. Sunshine. Heat. Beautiful women. Fast cars. Sand swept beaches. The film looks and feels like one long music video soaked in highly saturated colors, exotic locations, quick editing, and a camera that rarely stops moving which helps capture the liveliness of the streets of Miami. You feel like you’re in the passenger’s seat with Smith and Lawrence as they tear through the streets of Miami in search of their missing drug bust. Bay debuts his trademark 360 degree tracking shots that circle his actors, ramping up the intensity in dialogue driven scenes. He’ll even add slow motion to these type of shots during action to heighten the suspense and danger. He’s a master at making everything from his characters to his plot and even his explosions feel more grandiose than they are, and you know what? It works. Burnett and Lowrey come off as more than just Miami detectives. They’re “all that’s standing in the way” of an all-out war. It amplifies every moment, every gun battle, every car chase throughout the film.
The script was written by Doug Richardson, Michael Barrie and Jim Mulholland and was originally developed with Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz as the leads. Don’t think Jon Lovitz has it in him to beat up a punk? His real life beatdown of Andy Dick proves otherwise. Apparently Michael Bay wasn’t the biggest fan of the script and gave Smith and Lawrence the freedom to improvise within the scenes as they see fit. Smith and Lawrence were perfectly cast in their respective roles as the ladies man and family man. The plot doesn’t take a single moment to rest, moving from scene to scene at breakneck pace, keeping you on your toes the entire time.
Like I mentioned previously, I grew up loving Will Smith’s work in film and television, especially The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Independence Day, the Men in Black films, and Enemy of the State. The man was in hit after hit after hit. Guaranteed people in seats. Obviously liking Will Smith these days is not easy, nor should it be. He had the world eating out of his hands and threw it away on a dumb G.I. Jane joke that wasn’t even that great to begin with. I understand wanting to defend your wife’s honor, (again on a bad joke) but talk to Chris Rock backstage. Don’t get out of your seat and slap the man. I will never understand what was going through his mind in that moment, and then go out after winning later in the evening and pretend everything is fine and give a speech that seems disingenuous considering the events earlier in the evening. With that said, I will still enjoy his pre-scandal work, and he absolutely shines as Detective Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys. He is a suave, hilarious, ladies man, but above all a great detective who loves what he does and always has his partner’s back. He’s fun to watch, has great comedic timing and his chemistry with the cast is on point.
Martin Lawrence is the real star of the movie for me. Similar to Smith. Lawrence was primarily known for his work on television at the time. Bad Boys helped both of them make the to the big screen a monumental success. Lawrence had me doubled over with laughter throughout the whole film, the “Mike Lowrey” scenes especially. His reactions are hilarious and can make you laugh without saying a single word. He is such a versatile and well rounded comedic actor, able to provide exactly what the moment calls for. He followed Bad Boys with some of my favorite comedies, Nothing to Lose with Tim Robbins, Blue Streak and Black Knight. Plus, the Big Momma’s House franchise.
Joe Pantaliano is a whole fucking vibe in this film as the angry, over-the-top Captain. He’s constantly smoking cigars, even in the most unhinged of places like… shooting hoops in the gym 😂. He’s a man after my dad’s heart. I can remember when I was growing up, my dad would shoot hoops with me in our barn while simultaneously chomping down on a stogie.
Téa Leoni dazzles as Julie, the only witness to her friend (and Mike Lowery’s informant) Max’s murder. She’s not only vulnerable and scared but angry and revengeful at the same time and Leoni nails every layer of the character. She’s a great actor and really enjoyed her work with Nicolas Cage in The Family Man. She has incredible range and is always enjoyable to watch.
Bad Boys singlehandedly changed the entire action movie genre forever. Other filmmakers would go on to borrow the look, vibe and feel of Bad Boys with movies like Rush Hour, and The Fast and the Furious, among others. It’s a non-stop, action-packed thrill ride through the streets of Miami filled with humor and heart that demands to be rewatched.
GRADE: B-
Leave a Reply