By Walid Habboub

July 17, 2003

You know a film has an auspicious start when you can see a camera man on-screen almost 15 minutes into the film; then you're surprised when the movie, as much as it is just summer fare, turns out not to be such a bad experience. While Bad Boys II, the latest film from the dynamic duo of Jerry Bruckheimer and Michael Bay, is about 20 minutes too long and suffers from many slow spots, it does pack enough punch and has sufficient sporadic laughs to be worth your money.

Bad Boys II feels like Frankenstein's monster except the Doctor is really an entire laboratory of doctors, all of whom have taken their best creative parts and added a little something to the film. The film's action scenes are only good when they have nothing to do with the plot and the film is only funny when the comedy is put into a scene that dances along the border of the story. With nothing really there to hold the implausible plot together, the movie should fail miserably, but it doesn't. For all its absurdity, the movie manages to entertain with parts that are greater than the whole.

If not for the spectacular car chase scene in The Matrix Reloaded, Bad Boys II would have been known as having possibly the best car chase scene in recent movie history. The scene highlights what Bay does best in the film, and that is to mix CGI with real life action seamlessly and in an extremely effective fashion. The lengthy scene indulges a bit and completely ignores the laws of gravity, but it serves as an excellent action centerpiece for a high energy film. If you can stay awake from one action scene to the next, the payoff is good.

You won't have a good time if you don't go into the theatre on the understanding that this is a dumb summer action film that should not be taken seriously. Bay, who makes a cameo in the film as a citizen who almost has his car commandeered by Martin Lawrence's character, takes liberties with logic and common sense, but delivers the goods on the action scenes without having too much pretentious direction. The film still suffers from the leads having no chemistry whatsoever but manages to bring the funny in enough scenes to keep you in your seat.

All in all, Bad Boys II is entertaining and not boring. It also doesn't take itself too seriously and therefore stays lightly fun and does exactly what a typical summer action film is expected to do, and that is entertain. After a couple of rough years, Bruckheimer is back to delivering the goods this summer, and Bad Boys II will not disappoint movie fans.

View other columns by Walid Habboub