Bad Boys II

A depraved, vulgar, hyper-destructive fetish for “modern audiences”, filmed with a retarded screenplay on the table and ecstasy on the brain. Bad Boys II is funnier and more electrifying than Bad Boys, but it’s also dirtier, more hectic and more chaotic. That includes the action scenes, which are far from the elegance of those in The Rock, with the exception of the car chase on the bridges of Miami, which is one of the best in the genre. Joe Pantoliano cuts the most comical figure, though he is unfortunately given very little space. It’s also a shame about the unused potential of the Russian slimeball played by Peter Stormare. The main bad guy is OK. Overall, Bad Boys II is VERY funny and brisk in some places, and utterly dumb and dull entertainment in other places. Michael Bay unleashed and stripped of any sense of proportion. Woosa! Three and a half stars. (15/08/2003)

Bay is perfectly in tune with the xenophobic mood of America in recent years. Bad Boys II is an adrenaline rush that gives me the willies. And what about Martin Lawrence?......."No worries. You and I are just cocky badass cops and the rest of you are =CENSORED= that we can mash to a pulp, trash whatever we can get our hands on and don't give a shit about the law. All foreigners are scum, we don't give a fuck about the corpses in the morgue, it's not our bodies, is it? Running over dead bodies from the morgue, that's fun, nigga, ain't it? And the Cubans? They're subhumans, such human trash, I'd be happy to bulldoze over their shacks, I don't give a shit that there might be some people there, they're such commie scum."..... "And don't you think, Martin, that a little self-reflection might do some good?"...... "What the =CENSORED= are you talking about? A lot of people liked it, even KevSpa was thrilled! If you ain’t up for it, why do you watch action movies?”... “You’re wrong, Martin. I love action movies. I just don't like your tough-boy pose, and you in particular piss me off, I'd say you missed your calling."...... "FUCK YOU, MAN!!!!"...... "Oh, and one more thing. In an action flick, I need to relate to the protagonist at least a bit. That ain’t happening with you two. In fact, I really wish someone would kick your asses. Especially Bay’s."......."=CENSORED=. =CENSORED="..."Come on, Martin, don’t be mad."...... (17/02/2004)

I'm not a racist, but the Hollywood nigga-macho archetype is really getting on my nerves. And when the two come together, they get an arsenal of stupid catchphrases, designer clothes, and a flimsy story about drug dealers... Well, what's going to come of it? An incredibly simple film with great action sequences. I would like to narrow the film down to them, avoid unnecessary interludes and "humorous" speeches by both Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. Two stars for Michael Bay's traditionally great direction, a thoroughbred edit and a colorful camera. Which, unfortunately, doesn't mean you can watch Bad Boys II with your brain online. (05/11/2005)

Plenty of shots of pumped-up Smith and awkward Lawrence, a solid chase, a wannabe cool group of Haitians, and an excellent finish in the sand. But above all, plenty of missed references and shooting at seemingly all ethnicities or minorities. Bay's complete madness. (22/12/2005)

With the second Bad Boys, Michael Bay returned to where he belongs. After all, action-packed, wisecracking relax movies are what he does best. And when he returned, he took two Miami cops from the narcotics unit, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). Too bad that the screenplay gets lost in a sea of flawless action, interspersed with wisecracks from Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, but nothing’s ever perfect. Bay makes up for this with crazy scenes in the morgue or bodies falling out of cars (I hope you won’t think I’m crazy when I admit that I almost died laughing in the movie theater). I think I wouldn’t mind if we were treated to a part three that’s at least similarly good. (24/11/2006)

Very weak for Michael Bay’s standards, with tons of awkward dialogues that hinder an otherwise decently started storyline. The director covers up all the holes in the script with what he does best, breathtaking action. But even that has its flaws. The shootout at the intersection is practically a weaker copy of Mann's shootout outside the bank in Heat, with the same camera positions, the same shots, etc. Bay, of course, cuts much more disproportionately and the camera filters reduce the dose of reality to a minimum, but that's not the point here. Martin Lawrence is traditionally awkward, but we're already used to that. Annoyingly American crap. Movies like this won't make a great name for the current Hollywood film industry... (26/01/2006)

Bad Boys II? - well now, what do we have here? Old friends in visually perfectly rendered action, a lot of excellent, good and awkward jokes, some family hijinks, an unnecessarily overlong runtime (would have been great if they cut 25 minutes), a delicious highway chase, a passage set in a morgue that made me laugh to tears, a perfect ending in Cuba ("Plan C" is a ride so unreal that it's almost impossible)... Peter Stormare appears in a supporting role (Bay, why on earth didn't you give him more space?), Jordi Molla, the villain, may not be Karya from the first film, but he is charismatic and swinish to the point of being over-the-top. And then there are thousands of other decidedly unnecessary things that make Bad Boys II feel like it’s full of useless stuffing. Bottom line - three stars is just right. There will only ever be one original Bad Boys. And the absence of music (the main theme) from the first film was also disappointing. (19/07/2010)

An almost abysmal difference from the entertaining and brisk first one. The characters of Lawrence and Smith may still have the same potential, but it’s hopelessly drowned in 150 minutes of repetitive, foul-mouthed dialogue that becomes irrevocably boring after a short while. Michael Bay seems to have gained a very high opinion of his work after the success of The Rock, and instead of continuing to make exclusively action-packed popcorn movies for the entertainment of the audience, he started betting everything on profit. Perhaps it’s paying off for him, but I'm not going to forgive him. 50% (09/06/2012)

Monstrously chauvinistic miamisploitation suffused with amoral nihilism in the best action scenes the world has ever seen. The creative freedom of non-judgmental vocabulary drips so beautifully. What's not to love? (30/06/2007)

It's just a sequel. Bay wants to be even more spectacular, but he's basically just repeating himself. There are even more slow-motion shots, and even more technique, and it almost forgets about the main thing - camaraderie. But the lead duo thankfully saves the day and still has some bright and funny moments to win you over. (28/04/2017)