Bad Boys is a 1995 buddy cop action comedy directed by Michael Bay (Transformers), starring Will Smith (I Am Legend), Martin Lawrence (Black Knight), Tea Leoni (Jurassic Park III), Tcheky Karyo (Kiss of the Dragon), Theresa Randle (Space Jam), and Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix). The film follows Miami narcotics detectives, Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), who are on the trail of a french drug lord named Fouchet (Karyo) who’s stolen of 100 million dollars in heroin.

If you’re a fan of buddy cop movies, Bad Boys doesn’t disappoint. The story is what you’d expect, it isn’t the best in terms of depth. It’s got the fill of something along the lines of 48 Hours and Lethal Weapon. Still, it’s good enough to be entertaining with a good pace. It’s an interesting case for our leads to solve, there are plenty of interesting scenarios and hi-jinks, and there are a lot of great action sequences. There’s a lot of focus on the characters so there are slow moments but it doesn’t take away from appeal or entertainment.

The film’s essentially two storylines. The main story is the two detectives trying to solve the case of the stolen heroin and this drug lord. And the second story is Marcus and Mike swapping identities in the presence of Julie who they’re protecting. They mesh well, supporting context for both storylines while pushing its characters to the forefront. It might not be the deepest story or the most complex, but it still has its share of excitement and thrills. (3 out of 5)

The main two leads are definitely leading the charge in this film. Detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are just the fun energetic pep that gives this movie its step. They’re brash, violent, vulgar, quick tempered, sarcastic, but they’re different in terms of personality and they play well off each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Marcus is a family man while Mike is a bit of a playboy with an itchy trigger finger, but their relationship and chemistry is obvious. You can tell they’re more than just partners. They’re brothers. We’ve seen characters like this before but the performances and dialogue just make watching them more enjoyable.

The supporting characters are pretty cool too. I didn’t really find any who annoyed me. Julie (Leoni) is the damsel-in-distress but she’s anything but. She’s desperate but she’s fierce and I like the relationship she develops with Mike and Marcus. Then there’s Captain Howard (Pantoliano) who’s over the two and I like the dialogue between them. You can tell he cares for the two but they are a pain in his ass. Some of the funniest moments are when he’s snapping off. I did like Marcus’ wife Theresa and thought she grounded the film as being the normal aspect of Marcus’ life. And how she’s involved with the funny scenarios. There are these two other detectives who have back-and-forths with Mike and Marcus and they’re cool too. So, the main leads and the supporting characters are good.

Let’s talk about the bad guys. The main bad guy is Fouchet who’s a drug lord who’s making waves. Along with him are his henchmen Noah, Casper, and Ferguson. I thought they were okay. They are probably the weakest link in terms of characters. Fouchet’s a smart villain but he’s not the most interesting. He didn’t really have any good moments nor any memorable dialogue. The henchmen were okay but not really that memorable either. Despite the bad guys the characters are actually pretty entertaining and enjoyable. (4 out of 5)

Without a doubt the best part of this movie are the two leads, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. They have excellent chemistry together, I love the back and forth dialogue. They’re both great with the dramatic sequences, they’re great with the humor, the chemistry with the other cast members. They’re just as great as watching Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy. The two just sell this movie to the fullest. But they’re joined also by a strong supporting cast. Tea Leoni is great, and I like the chemistry she has with Smith and Lawrence. Joe Pantoliano plays Captain Howard and I really enjoyed his chemistry with the two leads. He actually had some of the best lines in the movie. Tcheky Karyo’s the main bad guy Fouchet and let’s be honest, he’s decent. It’s something about a French background and accent that makes a cool bad guy. However, I enjoyed Karyo more in Kiss of the Dragon than in this movie. (4 out of 5)

Visually the movie looks good in nearly every aspect. The action is captured pretty well thanks to Howard Atherton which keeps things pretty entertaining. There’s plenty of shootout sequences, fist fights, car chases, and explosions, everything Michael Bay does right. One of the best scenes in the film is Lawrence’s fight in a bathroom in the club. However, when it’s not entertaining it’s annoying. There are a lot of slow motion sequences, some that hit (such as when Mike’s running to save Marcus from being run over) and others that miss (in some of the shootouts). There’s some jerky movements with the camera where it keeps shaking and zooming in and out really fast (you see a lot of this in the action scenes). It looks like the cameraman couldn’t stop shaking like he’s suffering from withdrawal or something. (4 out of 5)

The music is handled pretty well thanks to Mark Mancina who’s done music for films like Speed, Tarzan, Twister, and Training Day. The soundtrack is straight up badass mixing R&B and rap like a well served vanilla and chocolate ice cream. It’s got some pretty good artist including Warren G, Babyface, and Jermaine Dupri. It’s no wonder why it was so popular. (5 out of 5)

Now let’s talk about the writing and direction. We know director Michael Bay has quite the reputation surrounding his career (at least later on). He does have an eye for dramatic flare and it’s apparent with the scenes between characters. This focus makes the characters more interesting and the conversations more meaningful. But his main strength has always been his attention to action sequences which are always intense, character focused, gunfire and explosions, and filled with slow motion sequences.

The direction really isn’t bad but the films greatest strength is writing surrounding the two main leads especially when it comes to the dialogue. It’s particularly strong when it comes to the back-and-forth between Lawrence and Smith. Even when it comes to certain one liners (which are cheesy as hell) which also leads to my point about the humor. The humor is written really well. It’s raunchy but feels authentic enough to be believable. I will say that I don’t like characterization for the villains and don’t think they’re particularly written well. So the writing’s decent. (3 out of 5)

In the end, Bad Boys is a pretty solid buddy cop movie. Really the only problems I have is with the overuse of slow mo, some of the writing choices, and lackluster antagonists. However, I do like performances by Smith and Lawrence as well as the supporting cast, the action is great, music is great, and it’s a good story. Bad Boys gets 4 out of 5.