The one word that best sums up this movie is boring. Certainly other words describe it: tasteless, self-satisfied, egotistical, childish, idiotic. But in the end the quality that sinks the movie is the fact that it is just too long and too little happens.
As many others have noted, the charm of "Bad Boys" was really that it was not planned to be a powerhouse hit. Sure there was some slow-motion and a few explosions, but the movie really worked because Lawrence and Smith had great on-screen chemistry. They played off of each other very well. The presence of Tea Leone - whose comic timing I did not appreciate until this awful sequel - only helped matters.
Now we have the requisite sequel, and it appears the gloves are off. Everything that worked in the first movie just bombs here because everyone seems so sure that it will work again. The chemistry between Lawrence and Smith seems forced as they go through the tired "Lethal Weapon" conversations; you know them by heart, "You're a loose cannon!" "I have three days to retirement!" "I'm putting in for a transfer!"
And perhaps the biggest killer of the movie is Smith's ego. There is not a single scene of Smith that doesn't involve slow-motion or some bimbo fawning over him. Smith slow-mo's into his bling-bling jacket and silk shirt. He slow-mo's into his car. He slow-mo bites into a sandwich. Everyone is so convinced that he's charismatic that they don't expect the guy to actually show any charisma.
Lawrence doesn't fare much better. He presents us with some tired family comedy (how in the heck does he afford that mansion on a cop's salary anyway?) and recycles his "I'm so mortified and grossed-out" jokes from the first movie. Other than that he seems remarkably tame, as if someone told him not to be funny.
Speaking of gross-out, there's an awful lot of that in this movie. Bay thinks it is high comedy to have heads fall of of decomposed bodies, and there is an intolerable scene in which the heroes chase a truck that hurls coffins and dead bodies at them - we then are treated to more detailed shots of said bodies exploding on the highway.
The movie is just childish and boring. I can't even remember the name of the villain, or what he was doing (something about Ecstasy, which wouldn't even be dangerous if dumbass cops like the ones played Lawrence and Smith didn't force it to be made by criminals with their self-obsessed drug war posturing). The car chases are moderately exciting, if ridiculous (after seeing two cop cars flip 20 times and blow up we hear the captain say "Thank God no cops were killed" - what, did they have ejector seats?). But by the time the gang invade Cuba you will probably be long tired of this crap.
As many others have noted, the charm of "Bad Boys" was really that it was not planned to be a powerhouse hit. Sure there was some slow-motion and a few explosions, but the movie really worked because Lawrence and Smith had great on-screen chemistry. They played off of each other very well. The presence of Tea Leone - whose comic timing I did not appreciate until this awful sequel - only helped matters.
Now we have the requisite sequel, and it appears the gloves are off. Everything that worked in the first movie just bombs here because everyone seems so sure that it will work again. The chemistry between Lawrence and Smith seems forced as they go through the tired "Lethal Weapon" conversations; you know them by heart, "You're a loose cannon!" "I have three days to retirement!" "I'm putting in for a transfer!"
And perhaps the biggest killer of the movie is Smith's ego. There is not a single scene of Smith that doesn't involve slow-motion or some bimbo fawning over him. Smith slow-mo's into his bling-bling jacket and silk shirt. He slow-mo's into his car. He slow-mo bites into a sandwich. Everyone is so convinced that he's charismatic that they don't expect the guy to actually show any charisma.
Lawrence doesn't fare much better. He presents us with some tired family comedy (how in the heck does he afford that mansion on a cop's salary anyway?) and recycles his "I'm so mortified and grossed-out" jokes from the first movie. Other than that he seems remarkably tame, as if someone told him not to be funny.
Speaking of gross-out, there's an awful lot of that in this movie. Bay thinks it is high comedy to have heads fall of of decomposed bodies, and there is an intolerable scene in which the heroes chase a truck that hurls coffins and dead bodies at them - we then are treated to more detailed shots of said bodies exploding on the highway.
The movie is just childish and boring. I can't even remember the name of the villain, or what he was doing (something about Ecstasy, which wouldn't even be dangerous if dumbass cops like the ones played Lawrence and Smith didn't force it to be made by criminals with their self-obsessed drug war posturing). The car chases are moderately exciting, if ridiculous (after seeing two cop cars flip 20 times and blow up we hear the captain say "Thank God no cops were killed" - what, did they have ejector seats?). But by the time the gang invade Cuba you will probably be long tired of this crap.