BAD BOYS

US, 1995, 118 minutes, Colour.
Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Tea Leoni, Tcheky Karyo, Joe Pantoliano, Theresa Randle, Marg Helgenberger.
Directed by Michael Bay.

Bad Boys was the first film directed by Michael Bay, director of rather big, sometimes overblown, action spectacles. Following Bad Boys he made The Rock and Armageddon and climaxed this with Pearl Harbor in 2001. He also directed a sequel, Bad Boys 2, in 2003 as well as The Island, 2005.

The film was basically a police buddy film. However, it got its energy and its verve from the teaming of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. After this film, Martin Lawrence appeared in quite a number of comedies (National Security, Black Knight, Blue Streak). Will Smith, who had already featured on television in the fresh Prince of Belair and had made a mark in films such as Made in America and Six Degrees of Separation, soon emerged as a star with Men in Black. He also appeared in Wild Wild West, Men in Black 2 and receive an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in Ali. He continued to be very successful with dramas and such comedies as Hitch.

The film is loud and booming, chases, explosions, patter between the two central characters, confrontations between villains and police – with no holds barred and no rules.

1. The popularity of the film at the box office? In America and beyond? A star vehicle for the two emerging stars? A tour de force for the action director?

2. The Miami settings, the city itself, the weather, the sun? The rain? The police buildings, the homes, the mansions? The roads and bridges, the car chases and explosions? The musical score and its mood?

3. The title, Marcus and Michael as policemen, rough and ready, their own methods, bad boys?

4. The film as a buddy film, the popularity of the police odd couple, their investigations, working together, clashes and bickering? Differences of method? The film as a police thriller? Detective work?

5. The crime, the robbery, its daring, the violence of the takeover of the building, the drugs? The need for them being cut and refined? Limiting the areas for the police to find where they were within four days? The killer, his henchmen, his going to the house of the drug dealer and killing him as well as Max? His knowing that there was a witness? Tracking down Marcus and Mike, the confrontation in the vestibule, the shootings? The car chases, the pursuits, the police going into the warehouse where the drugs were being refined, the confrontation with the villain and his death?

6. Julie as the witness, Max and her background, callgirl, going to the mansion, taking Julie as a friend? Max's death, Julie and her witnessing the murder? Her fears, ringing Mike, getting Marcus, the mistaken identity? Going to the apartment, her reaction to Marcus and to Mike, eventually understanding the truth? Meeting Marcus's wife?

7. Marcus's wife, the family at home, watching Dad on television? His continuously being harassed, loving his wife yet feeling that something was missing from his life? Envying Mike? Sparring with him?

8. The police chief, his exasperation with them (even when Michael could get baskets when the chief was exasperated)? The fellow commander, her criticism, her demands? The police force and their work in Miami?

9. The characters of Michael and Marcus, Michael as the man about town, his wealth, single, ladies' man, suave? Marcus, shorter, long married, family, harassed? Their techniques of working together, especially when putting assailants off, like the man with the gun in the store?

10. The conventions of this kind of action thriller, the chases, the shootouts, the explosions? Popular box office material?