Review of Bad Boys II (2003) by Writefilmlive21 — 06 Dec 2012

It's easy to tell when you're watching a Michael Bay movie, particularly from post-90s Bay. He is a straight-up action junkie, and "Bad Boys II" is perhaps as much of an action flick as you could get, flying from one scene to the next in a visually pompous, grandiose and sometimes distracting style. Bay's lack of proof at delivering good acting is saved to a certain extent here by the always-enjoyable Will Smith and sometimes-enjoyable Martin Lawrence, and the plot is - as usual - written to serve action and visual interest rather than characters and compelling suspense. Also signature of Bay here is a well-rounded melting pot of pubescence and common denominators - the screen is bursting at the seams virtually every minute with frenetic car chases and gunfights, bloody shootings, pissed off characters in love with profanity and the camera's adolescent adoration for sexual imagery and innuendo. Hell, in this round Bay treats himself to a substantial amount of somewhat disturbing mortuary humor and cadaver carnage, even resorting to throwing fat dead bodies off the back of a truck and watching them subsequently squashed and mutilated by traffic.

Still, despite all the over-the-line black comedy and lack of any substantive character development or plotwriting, the action scenes are mostly a lot of fun, and it's still nice to see car chases and massive destruction that isn't just CGI. True, you do have some computer cars swerving and tumbling down highways in a mayhem that likely defies many laws of physics, but you also have a Hummer careening madly down a hill of shacks and houses, followed by trails of explosions and enemy gunfire. Even when led by Will Smith, this can never make for great filmmaking, but this is Michael Bay at his adolescent best, and in this movie he can be largely forgiven for his momentary transgressions due to the overall popcorn factor of the flick. Just be warned - if you don't have the stomach for brutal bloody violence, hundreds of F-words, or hiding under sheets with dead big-breasted cadavers, "Bad Boys II" will not be your cup of tea. If you don't mind a barrage of mindless teenage eye candy, then perhaps you'll find this a treat. For me, I give it a rating straight down the middle. Fun action, some funny moments, and nice special effects, but stuffed with meatless filler of a plot. Okay, but not that great.