MovieFreak.com - "Bad Boys 2" DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

"I think we just broke the record for the number of gun fights in one week." - Marcus Burnett

Narcotics cops Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) head up a task force investigating the flow of ecstasy into Miami. Their search leads to a dangerous kingpin, whose plan to control the city's drug traffic has touched off an underground war. Meanwhile, things get sexy between Mike and Syd (Union), Marcus's sister. Thanks to IMDB.

I'll say it right off the bat, Bad Boys 2 is a full-blown, mean-spirited, overly long, and beautiful-looking action picture. I don't mind the full-blown action in the film. Heck, it's a Michael Bay film of a Jerry Bruckheimer production. These guys spell out action like no other director/producer team in Hollywood. However, when some of the action becomes too excessive then there is a problem. I have nothing against car chases and shootouts, but how often can they occur before becoming tiresome? The answer is limited. At least one or two car chases are unnecessary, because at the end of them nothing happens fundamentally.

In that case it's a flaw in the script. As it happens this sequel is about something less than the original. While the first one had a central story, part two features a thin story about a drug kingpin who must be stopped before flooding Miami clubs with new drugs. Another side of the story is the arguments between Mike and Marcus, and a weak romance involving Marcus' sister Syd. So how come this film is almost 150 minutes long? Well, that's for Michael Bay to justify, but I might have a plausible answer; a lack of self-restraint. One only needs to look at the film's budget of circa $120 million. Much of that money went towards the demolition of cars and streets, not to mention to the main stars, and the usual scene set-ups and whatever else eats up a lot of money. In short, the script should've been much more focused and the studio probably wouldn't have had to put up so much money.

I'm not sure who to blame for the next flaw. It could be the script, but it could also be the improvisation of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. I'm not sure so don't take this the wrong way, but what the hell is wrong with these people? Some of the things they say in this film are completely distasteful and gratuitous. I won't even begin to describe some of the things as I'm sure viewers will pick up on this themselves. The two actors give lively performances, no doubt about it, but I thought the characters didn't carry the same sense of coolness from the original. They're simply going through the motions, and that's not enough. Lawrence and Smith looked like they had fun making the film, too bad they didn't much care for making the audience like them. With that said, Bad Boys 2 is too raw and bloated for its own good. I was looking for something more interesting.

On the flipside, Bad Boys 2 is not all without excitement. As I said earlier, there are a lot of chases and shootouts. They're fun to watch and all that, some are even downright spectacular. Some moments are funny, but most are unfunny. In the end, say what you will, but Bad Boys 2 is one of those weak sequels despite a larger budget, a longer running time and more action. The recipe for success usually lies within the story and script of a film, not the dictation of action and hardcore R-rated material. I'm being slightly more critical in this review, but there really is not a lot of good to attribute to the film. Bad Boys 2 might be entertaining and all that, but it remains a bloated sequel.

Columbia presents Bad Boys in 2.40:1 anamorphic widescreen. The print image looks pretty good without any great errors, dirt or specks do not appear. Colors are vivid and very well-saturated. Color detail is very nice. Black levels look pretty good. However, there are noticeable areas of edge enhancement in this presentation, causing halos and ghosting to appear around affected objects, but I didn't notice any compression artifacts or pixelation. This is not one of Sony's best presentations as of late, but it's still a crisp looking transfer despite EE.

Columbia presents Bad Boys in English 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound. Dialogue is clear and easy to understand. The two front channels reproduce dialogue nicely without any distortion. Sound effects are effectively emitted from the rear speakers, giving the presentation pretty cool ambience. The soundfield is pretty loud and there is also evidence of nice dynamic range. All in all, the 5.1 DD track sounds off with high and sharp sound effects. Very nicely done, Sony.

Bad Boys 2 arrives in a nice-looking 2-disc DVD. A nice paper insert lists scene selections and features an alternate poster design on the flipside. The DVD itself is enclosed inside a glossy cover. The film plays on disc 1 while all the special features are concentrated on disc 2.

Surprisingly, there is no commentary track available. Perhaps Michael Bay didn't care to sit down for 2 and a half hours discussing the film, but after watching the extensive production diaries it became clear he probably would've repeated information already covered. Incidentally, the extras make up for the lack of a commentary.

First up are 6 deleted scenes in anamorphic widescreen. No commentary is offered here either, but their exclusions are self-explanatory. In fact, the "Fake Funeral" scene is downright distasteful. These scenes run a total of roughly 8 minutes.

Next are two featurettes, both of which feature behind-the-scenes footage and interviews. Stunts (9:27) examines the freeway chase and scene where the yellow Hummer races through the shanty town. Visual Effects (18:36) details the progression of the effects used in the freeway chase, the ice van chase, the shootout with Marcus and Mike inside an apartment, the bullet's path scraping Marcus' buttocks, and a few other scenes. Both featurettes are informative and interesting to watch.

Six subjections that detail the making of specific scenes exist in the Sequence Breakdowns. Choose to view a scene via four options, 1) from the final film, 2) through an "On the Set" featurette, 3) by way of storyboards, and 4) reading script pages. The scenes are "MacArthur Causeway", "Ice Van Chase", "Monorail Fight", "5 Man Ratchet", "Tapia's House", and "Shanty Town". Pretty cool stuff.

The Production Diaries are the most intimate and focused parts of the special features. These 19 vignettes are brief, but pretty interesting. The important "play all" option is not featured here. . "Genesis" (5:43) is a nice look back at the first film, specifically the troubles Bay faced during filming. There was no time and money to shoot the "You forgot your boarding pass" scene, so Bay made out a check to Columbia to cover the cost. He was paid back years later. The remaining diaries are kind of cool, too. Some are not as interesting, but they nevertheless provide nice insight into making of the film.They are "Training Days" (2:19), "Swamp" (6:12), "Night Club" (2:42), "Intersection Shootout" (7:50), "Get in My Office! " (2:16), "Hugs and Kisses" (3:23), "Poolside" (2:58), "Jordi Molla" (3:09), "First Date" (2:41), "Crime Lab" (1:47), "Captain's House" (2:23), "A Couple of Cameos" (2:27), "Train Dodging" (2:58), "Joey Pants" (1:50), "The Russian is Coming" (3:30), "Home Invasion" (5:39), "Bringing Down the House" (3:49), and "Shanty Town" (2:58).

Last but not least is Jay Z's "La-La-La" music video, though I didn't find much use for it. You can also view DVD credits. Back on disc 1 there are several bonus trailers, including Bad Boys, Bad Boys II, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, Radio, S.W.A.T., Animated Spider-Man, The Missing and Underworld.

You can select to view the film with optional English and French subtitles. The 147-minute feature is organized into twenty-eight chapters.

Bad Boys 2 is essentially the same as the first film, except consisting of a much bigger budget, more curse words, explosions and chases. The story is too thin and most of the comedy falls flat. Columbia's DVD features a nice video transfer despite EE, an impressive and loud audio presentation, and a number of insightful extras. I'm recommending the DVD, although the film itself only warrants a rental.

THE MOVIE	6
THE VIDEO	8
THE AUDIO	10
THE EXTRAS	8
OVERALL (not an average)	7