see, i really hate the films of Michael Bay. i really do. they're overblown, arrogant, wannabe-loved hollywood filmmaking at its very, very worst. and with both Armageddon and Pearl Harbor he (they, if you're counting Bruckheimer) even pretended he had something important to say. or maybe he was just talking out of his ass and tried to sell it as something more than that.
anyway.
last night i rented Bad Boys II because a) i really felt the need to watch an action-packed film, and b) there's a serious drought of good action movies these past few years. this one, at the very least, looked like it was shot properly. that's all i was asking for.
don't pay too much attention to the plot here (it includes some kind of really lame cuban bad guy who imports ecstasy in dead bodies) or the mind-bending racist comments spattered throughout the first half of the film. it starts out really badly with an action piece that doesn't really goes anywhere. so, the story is secondary; we know that by now. but was that done on purpose (it really seems like it)? i mean, the real attraction here (but not one i was really looking forward to beforehand) is the teaming of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. now. i do not care about will. he has some charm and i let him go on about his business. that's pretty much the extent of our relationship. and martin lawrence? nah, forget it. i don't think i ever saw him in anything else than Bad Boys I, and i can barely remember more than one scene from that film.
but.
i think it took me about 20 minutes to get over the michael bay factor. in fact, mikey here somehow managed to get out of the way of the film. okay, some people might not agree with me on this but that's how it felt. the explosions are still there and everything. but the ludicrous scale of armageddon and pearl harbor are absent from this one. and it's a refreshing absence.
and i was actually able to appreciate the style choices he made (not that they have any cinematic intentions other than looking good, mind you; this is popcorn moviemaking at its finest: it's candy, but fun candy) and get into it. he got me. he actually got me.
and there was also actually another surprise in here for me -- martin lawrence. out of everyone in the film, he actually gives the best one. not only the best one out of the bunch, but he actually gives a real human performance. and that's along with being able to make me laugh along with him. he surprised the hell out of me (see the in-store camera scene; he actually plays it straight all the way. no small feat. no laughs, nothing. just a guy hurting. bay's the one who's left to play for the laughs; which he does, but nothing that overshadows martin's performance in any way).
anyway.
i just wanted to share my thoughts on this film with you.
if you're looking for an entertaining 2+ hours, rent this one and check your brain at the door. i know i enjoyed it (and i can't reiterate this enough -- much, much, much to my surprise!).
. . . . . . .
i just wanted to add that the money's on the screen. and not in an unjusitifed way either, this looks good and there was no money wasted on this flick. it's a just one hell of a fun ride.
Posted by Anonymous | 9:08 AM
