Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are partnered Miami cops looking to bust drug king Hector Tapia (Jordi Molla). Burnett's sister Sydney (Gabrielle Union) is an undercover agent down from the Big Apple as part of a concurrent (and secret from the MPD, of course) D.E.A operation. And unknown to Marcus, Mike and Sydney have A Thing going.

BAD BOYS II is too frequently mean and unpleasant. There's gratuitous gore, e.g. a can of freshly severed body parts and slo-mo shots of bullets hitting flesh. Nor does the bond between Mike and Marcus have the audience appeal of that between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the LETHAL WEAPON series, though I suspect the creators of BBII were hoping to achieve it. Indeed, after Marcus learns of his sister's affair with Lowrey, there's downright animosity. Moreover, scenes ostensibly supposed to be comic are instead cruel, as when our two heroes harass a teenage boy who's appeared on the Burnett doorstep for a first date with Marcus's teenage daughter. Lastly, the extreme action sequences are of a sort that obviously leave behind scores of dead and maimed innocent bystanders. Yet, this is never acknowledged beyond reference to twenty-three "totaled" vehicles after an eye-popping car chase on a bridge.

Award for Most Overacted Performance should perhaps go to Joe Pantoliano as police Captain Howard, who rides herd on our fearless duo's excesses. The role would have been better played straight by a grumpy Sam Elliott. Pantoliano is miscast, which compounds this excruciating mistake.

The movie's conclusion features a ludicrous collaborative operation involving the CIA, DEA, Coast Guard, and MPD. It's so silly that I was tempted to knock off another star, but pillorying Hollywood for improbability is like scolding politicians for insincerity.

Despite my disenchantment with the film's many shortcomings, I'm still awarding fours stars SOLELY because of the phenomenal action sequences, particularly the vehicle pursuits and shoot-em-ups. As a matter of fact, BAD BOYS II is, by those narrow standards, perhaps the best thriller of its type I've seen to date. This either means that it's actually pretty decent, or I need to get out more.

Product Details/Specifications