Certification. 15
Running Time. 2 hours 27 mins
Cast. Martin Lawrence, Jordi Mollà, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle, Michael Shannon, Will Smith, Gabrielle Union.
Rating. 56%
Director, Michael Bay had almost six times the budget of the original Bad Boys for Bad Boys II, and it shows. Bad Boys II is bigger, bolder and brasher. The film is packed with genuinely creative, hyper-stylised action set pieces ranging from a claustrophobic shootout in a drug den to a Hummer chase sequence through (and I mean through) a Cuban favela. But the highlight has to be a spectacular car chase through the streets of Miami where the criminals launch vehicles at the two detectives in pursuit.
However, Bad Boys II suffers from an incredulous storyline and a sackful of cliches, everything from the exasperated police captain to the Central American druglord. In addition, the lowly detectives seem to be able to summon the entire resources of the Miami Police Force at the drop of a hat, and disregard US foreign policy in order to carry out an unsanctioned excursion into Cuba.
Michael Bay's, at times outrageous, ill-disciplined attempt to escalate each and every set piece leads to an overly lengthy run time, and some judicious editing could have easily trimmed this film to a more manageable two hours.
There's a needless mean-spirited sense of humour in Bad Boys II that wasn't as apparent in Bad Boys. The film's narrative is an uncomfortable mix of sexism and homophobia, and the pervasive dismissal of male mental health throughout. In some ways, Bad Boys II reminded me of 48 Hrs. 48 Hrs had an excuse, it was released in 1982. Sadly, Bad Boys II seems to have retained a similar set of outdated attitudes 20 years later.
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