"Bad
Boys" and "Pirates" give
one-two punch
By
Adam Zitomer
Summer On-line Forty-Niner
Producer
Jerry Bruckheimer treats moviegoers to a
double dose of action this summer with his
two blockbusters "Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl," and
"Bad Boys II."
"Pirates
of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black
Pearl," inspired by the Disneyland
ride, stars Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom and
Geoffery Rush. Depp plays Captain Jack Sparrow,
who was the captain of the Black Pearl before
Rush's character, Captain Barbosa, started
a mutiny and took over the ship, leaving
Sparrow on an island to die.
After
the mutiny, Black Pearl was cursed and the
pirates on the ship were damned and transformed
into the living dead. Sparrow got off the
island to confront his former mates and
regain control of his ship.
The
film is wonderful -- the special effects
and the action sequences are great. Depp,
as he seems to do often in his movies, took
his character and ran with it, putting flair
into the movie making his performance entertaining.
The movie is also entertaining, though it
is a bit long. At two-and-a-half hours,
it is slow at parts. But, other than the
length, it is very good. Overall, I give
it a B.
"Bad
Boys II" had a tough act to follow,
but director Michael Bay and producer Jerry
Bruckheimer had no problem outdoing themselves.
Strangely, "Bad Boys II" makes
its debut eight years after the release
of the original, but it took that long to
get everybody from the original cast back
together, which is a real plus in the movie.
The
screenplay is amazing and shows how far
the film industry has come in eight years.
It has spectacular special effects and action
sequences like nothing I have ever seen.
The car chases and the gunfights give you
a rush. Scene after scene is action-packed
and full of jokes. "Bad Boys II"
is thrilling and hilarious, putting it on
the short list of sequels that surpass its
predecessors.
In
"Bad Boys II," Will Smith and
Martin Lawrence are still in Miami and are
now part of a special tactical narcotics
team. The boys are trying to stop the man
moving the biggest ecstasy shipment on record
into the Miami harbor
The
new twist is Sid, played by Gabrielle Union,
who is Lawrence's sister and Smith's girlfriend
who is also working for the Drug Enforcement
Administration undercover on the same case.
When her cover is blown, she is taken hostage
by a drug lord who leads them on a wild
ride to Cuba.
Smith
and Lawrence prove they are two of the biggest
stars of the last decade. This is one of
the best movies of the year and I give it
an A plus.
If
you are looking for more bang for your buck,
I recommend "Bad Boys II," but
if they had a "Bad Boys" ride
at Disneyland, I am sure it couldn't compete
with the pirates, plus it would need an
age restriction of 21 and up.
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