Bad Boys II (Two-Disc Special Edition)

Bad Boys II (Two-Disc Special Edition)

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DVD Reviews of Bad Boys II (Two-Disc Special Edition)

DVD Review: An open letter to Michael Bay
Summary: 1 Stars

What were you thinking with this film? It's bad enough that you insulted the memories of WWII veterans who died on December 7th 1941 with PEARL HARBOR. Now you have to make one of the ugliest, meanest, and sickeningly violent flicks with BAD BOYS II? What is wrong with you?

You are an extremely talented director. That is undeniable. You proved that with your Cleo award winning "Got Milk" ad. You proved it again with a music video you directed for Meal Loaf in 1993. Your feature film debut BAD BOYS, while not a complete success, did have some entertainment value to it. Then you made THE ROCK, which was one of the best action films of 1996. Even ARMAGEDDON in 1998 was entertaining.

But first PEARL HARBOR in 2001 and now this film? Couldn't you find a better plot than the old tired one of an international drug lord who wants to control the city of Miami, kills everyone who betrays him, takes someone important to the heroes as hostage, blah, blah blah? And speaking of the heroes, all they do is shoot thousands of rounds of ammo, destroy every building they walk into, constantly use the f-word and the N-word. They're nothing more than a couple of overgrown 12 year olds with badges and guns. They have no chemistry together, no home lives worth caring about. One of them is secretly dating the other's little sister. That's big character development. You even have your own cameo in the film with a line of dialogue describing Martin Lawrence precisely: Freak.

What were you thinking with the scene where the date of Martin Lawrence's daughter rings the doorbell and both Lawrence and Smith verbally abuse the young kid, pull their guns on him, and ask him if he is a virgin? It's just plain sick. "Ever dated a man? Want to?" asks Smith. Was this your idea? Did you actually find this funny?

For that matter, what were you thinking in the climax where Smith and Lawrence drive the bad guy's Hummer through a shanty town, destroying every building in their way? People have to live there, and they just drive through those houses. By the time this scene arrives we've already seen bodies flying everywhere, an unbelievable number of shots fired all during the film, and really graphic depictions of people shot to death with blood everywhere. I'm actually amazed you didn't show bodies of residents that surely would have been killed. The same week BAD BOYS II premiered in theaters there was a shocking tragedy of an old man who mistakenly stepped on the gas instead of the brake of a car and drove right through an outdoor market, destroying everything in front of him and killing 12 people. When this tragedy occurred, you didn't make any announcements to the press that your film contained a scene that resembled it. You never offered any condolences to the families of those victims. Are you a completely remorseless person?

I know what you think about film critics. We're a bunch of 40-something elitists, and your audience consists of young kids who don't care what critics say. Guess what, Michael Bay. I'm younger than 40 and I am a critic. I know about your attitude towards critics because of your commentary track in Criterion's ARMAGEDDON.

"My movie grossed $138 million in 2003. That's how you address critics. Show them that audiences don't care what they think." I am sure that's what you're saying to yourself as you read this review. Disney thought the same thing when PEARL HARBOR made over $100 million. Well, Michael Bay, I can counterpoint that with something David Mamet once said on the internet--a filmmaker and writer a lot smarter than you. He said that he had written mass entertainment and enjoys it. But it's the opposite of art. A mass entertainment filmmaker's job is to appeal to the audience's taste, to seduce the audience, and to let them know everything they believe is correct. But an artist's job is to step back and say, "Wait a minute. This is wrong. Let's reexamine this. Let's think about it a different way." Even when you are at your best like THE ROCK you are NOT an artist. You are a mass entertainment filmmaker. Believe me, there is a difference.

Jean Luc-Godard said the only way to criticize a movie is to make another one. And coming out on video two weeks after BAD BOYS II is another cop film that does exactly that. It's called S.W.A.T. Ironically, it was released by the same studio that did BAD BOYS II: Columbia Pictures. I suggest you watch this film and see what I mean.

If after reading this open letter you are still scoffing at what I'm getting at, and plan to continue making disgusting movies like BAD BOYS II I've only got one thing left to say.

Someday you're going to find yourself without a career. And you will have nobody to blame but yourself.

Description of Bad Boys II (Two-Disc Special Edition)