Cast. Tchéky Karyo, Martin Lawrence, Téa Leoni, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle, Will Smith.
Rating. 65%
Like so many directors of the time, Michael Bay cut his teeth on producing commercials and music videos. After catching the eyes of producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer whilst directing Chicago's 'Hearts in Trouble' from the film Days Of Thunder, Michael Bay was handed Bad Boys as his directorial debut. And so, Simspon and Bruckheimer unleashed the phenomenon of Michael Bay, the mainstay of the multiplex summer blockbuster.
Even in this first venture, trademark Michael Bay tactics are employed. Bad Boys is loud, brash and bold. The film contains countless violent explosions and stylish, slow-motion action set-pieces.
The plot is simple, some may say derivative. Two Miami detectives have 72 hours to find a consignment of $100 million dollars of heroin stolen from the police station before Internal Affairs shuts them down. To make matters worse, the two detectives have to protect the sole witness who can identify the lead criminal.
Mike Lowery (Will Smith) is a wealthy, hip, smooth-talking single guy and his beleaguered partner, Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) the exact opposite - married with three young children, a house and a mortgage. Responsibilities. Sound familiar?
What elevates Bad Boys from so many run-of-the-mill 'meet your new partner' offerings is the seemingly natural rapport between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The constant sparring is brutal, rapid-fire and, above all, believable.
The wonderful Joe Pantoliano is marvellously cast as the highly strung, no-nonsense Captain Howard, "The politics demand that somebody take the rap for this, and it's gonna be us. Just do what you do. Only faster."
Ultimately, Bad Boys is a popcorn movie. At times, the film feels more like an extended music video - Lethal Weapon for the MTV generation, if you like.
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