It’s a Hollywood tradition to constantly always follow up a fantastic one-off story with an unnecessary sequel that will not only tarnish the legacy of the original film, but also make you feel like it was made just for the purpose of being a cash grab.
Such was also the case with Bad Boys II, while the original was one of the most iconic films of the 1990s, the sequel turned out to be nothing more than a bland and boring film that didn’t really have an identity of its own. It’s a film that not only disappointed viewers, but also made them dislike the franchise as a whole.
How to Stream or Download Bad Boys II
To stream or to download the film from a digital store, click on the Download button at the of the review. Check out also the third film in the series – Bad Boys for Life (2020).
The Movie Review
The story once again sees the 90s heroes Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett as the two Miami police department Detective Sergeants and childhood friends are investigating about the smuggling of drugs into Miami.
Their investigation leads them to not only find that Miami is HUGELY infested with drugs, but they also realize that there is an extremely dangerous Drug Lord who is trying to figure out a way to become the top drug trader in Miami. Now, Mike and Marcus are the only two Miami Police Detectives who can stop him, and they’ll do it in style!
Michael Bay’s direction here is absolutely heartbreaking to watch. The film has no rhythm. It’s a collection of multiple different scenes that are happening one after the other, and there isn’t much else to say about that. The scenes feel like they were made just to keep the story going, not to give viewers more insight into the story or the characters.
It’s a simple film that doesn’t really try to reel you in with its characters, and puts its over the top stunts and action to the forefront and lets it do the talking.
I must say, even as someone who isn’t fond of Michael Bay’s style of filmmaking, the action in Bad Boys II is absolutely fantastic. There are car chases, hand to hand combat scenes, gunfights in a drug lord’s factory and explosions, lots and lots of explosions.
The practical effects are done super well and they’re aided by the help of some decent to great CGI that makes the film feel even more over the top. Though as much focus this film puts on its action, the characters and the story are completely sidelined.
I went in hoping to see Will Smith and Martin Lawrence acting their hearts out as some of the funniest and most well written Hollywood blockbuster film characters. However, the film doesn’t really give you that and instead force feeds you 2 hours’ worth of action scenes, one on top of another.
There is no character development nor do these characters grow or learn anything significant in any way whatsoever, and that part is kind of sad because they are genuinely interesting and have good stories to tell.
Will Smith is the real best part of this film though, he’s just absolutely amazing here and constantly manages to make you laugh despite the fact that he isn’t really a comedic character. Martin Lawrence’s Marcus Burnett is still the wise guy of the two, and brings in a much-needed mature perspective to Mike who is just a proper man child always looking to have the most fun he can in life.
The rest of the performances didn’t really hit the spot, though they were decent enough I would say to not be considered bad.
Initially I did not like the cinematography of this film, though recently I’ve realized that it actually has some decent shots amidst all of the bad ones.
The film is LITTERED with bad cinematography, there’s tilted shots, shaky camera, pointless over exposure in some scenes and some horrible filters added in during editing which results in a green and yellowish color pallet that isn’t pleasing to the eye. However, during the action scenes in particular, this film feature some really decent shots.
The Bottom Line
Bad Boys II is a confusing film, you don’t really know how to feel about it. It’s an entertaining film on the one hand, with decent action and some fun to watch acting by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. However, it’s also a film littered with inconsistencies and issues that truly take away from the experience.
