Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett go up against a
​powerful Cuban drug lord who is flooding the streets with ecstasy. 

ACTION/COMEDY/CRIME

Bad Boys II (2003)

Directed by Michael Bay

Written by Ron Shelton and Jerry Stahl

Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Gabrielle Union, Jordi Mollà, Joe Pantoliano, Peter Stormare, Theresa Randle, Yul Vazquez,
Jason Manuel Olazabal, Michael Shannon

Sequel to 1995's Bad Boys

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Connor Eyzaguirre

June 2, 2020

8/10

Bad Boys II has become somewhat of a cult classic, for inexplicable reasons. It's certainly better than the first one, but not by much. This sequel features twice the action, twice the explosions, and twice the comedy. Not to mention some of the craziest car chases I've seen in film. Michael Bay's bread and butter has always been over-the-top, wild, improbable action sequences, and this film has them in spades. The story is once again generic and predictable, apart from a bonkers finale in Cuba that makes zero sense politically, but is pretty fucking cool.

Again, we follow Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence), who are having a bit of static in their partnership. Mike is dating Marcus's DEA agent sister Syd (Union), and Marcus is on the verge of a transfer. Neither has told the other their secret. In Miami, a longtime drug kingpin is flooding the streets with ecstasy, and he's untouchable. Most of the film involves the two cops trying to land some evidence on the guy, including a hilarious scene where they try to find the drugs hidden inside corpses at a mortuary. It all culminates in a crazy shootout in Cuba, where Mike and Marcus are assisted by the FBI, the DEA, and the goddamn CIA. Logistically, that would never happen. Cinematically, it's absolutely fucking awesome.

Bad Boys II is a great action comedy because it simply doesn't give a shit. It expands on the craziest parts of the first movie, becoming a standalone film in the process. Smith and Lawrence are once again hilarious together, and the action scenes are pretty remarkable. I didn't think I'd dig this one that much, mostly because the critic reviews were rough. But it's a gem.