Rating:
Director: Joel Schumacher
Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Mike Stenson
Writers: Jason Richman, Michael Browning
Director of Photography: Dariusz Wolski
Cast: Chris Rock, Anthony Hopkins
| BAD COMPANY Rating: Director: Joel Schumacher Producers: Jerry Bruckheimer, Mike Stenson Writers: Jason Richman, Michael Browning Director of Photography: Dariusz Wolski Cast: Chris Rock, Anthony Hopkins |
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Review by: Dan
Tester
6/09/02
Bad Movie. I know, that is too immature and easy, but writing a review for Bad Company that involves any kind of maturity or intellect just seems a ridiculous waste of time. Actually, I have noticed, in the recent past, a really gutsy move on the part of Hollywood studios to release bad movies with titles that beg to be mocked. Jennifer Lopez' Enough, Cameron Diaz' The Sweetest Thing, Tim Allen's Big Trouble and now, Chris Rock's Bad Company. Are they just trying to make it easy for us?
Chris Rock plays a "difficult" dual role, as both a top-notch CIA agent deeply involved in a mission, and his street hustler twin brother Jake Hayes, who is called to "fill in" when his brother is killed in the line of duty. Here is where the strangest thing about Bad Company comes into play. Precious little time is spent developing Rock's CIA character, and basically his 10 minutes of screen time is devoted to showing him nervously meeting with terrorists, and running scared from assassins with guns as his CIA cohorts blast away to protect him. Then Jake Hayes enters the picture, goes through nine days of CIA training, and then spends the rest of the movie nervously meeting with terrorists, and running scared from assassins with guns as his CIA cohorts blast away to protect him. Where is the juxtaposition there?
This movie should have spent a little more time early on developing Rock's agent as a sort of super spy, maybe offering the kind of slam bang opening that the James Bond films pride themselves on, with lots of action and stunts, and the seemingly invincible super spy gliding through it with complete success. But this time, it could ironically end with the agent actually being killed. THEN bring in the loser twin brother, and make him have to match up to that. That would have at least been interesting. But that was probably just too much work for the brain trust responsible for Bad Company. There's just not enough time available to develop that sort of story line, when you have to fit in about a full hour's worth of boring car chases (does anyone really find these exciting anymore?) and gun battles (these too?).
But in all honesty, the film probably never had a fighting chance. Joel Schumacher directed it. Joel Schumacher is the worst director working in movies today. He is a visionless hack who has found a consistency of underachievement that is amazing. Schumacher began his career in Hollywood as a costume and production designer, wrote a few screenplays, and has now worked his way up to the role of an inexplicably prolific director. His career evolution has followed the same basic gradual growth process of the Ebola virus, and has now become a full-blown problem. He just can't be stopped. I wonder if he just takes out an ad in Variety after each completed film, reading, "Got a clever, high concept idea that you need trimmed down into mediocre slop? Call me." It would certainly get a flood of responses these days. This is the guy that killed the Batman franchise with his ridiculous self-indulgence with oversized codpieces. Who does this guy know? And what does he "have" on them? Must be pretty incriminating, because he has been allowed to direct again, and comes through with another trademark notch on his frayed belt.
Oddly, it seems that Anthony Hopkins was not informed of the unilateral attempt at mediocrity and actually turns in a pretty great performance. His super serious CIA agent Gaylord Oakes (Gaylord Oakes?) is a very interesting and entertaining character, and is the only thing to recommend about Bad Company. He plays his character with such enthusiasm and subtle restraint that he usually appears to have accidentally wandered in from another movie altogether. There is a great sequence midway through, in which Chris Rock is under attack from another assassin, and Hopkins casually jumps into action and goes on a shooting spree so coolly and systematically that he never even takes a break from chewing his gum. This was one cool cat, but sadly, why did he even bother?
Chris Rock is miscast, but I just have
to wonder, why did he even want to do this? He is a comedian,
and a funny one at that. But this movie isn't very funny, and
it isn't very dramatic either. It isn't exciting, it isn't scary,
and most of all, it is not believable. It is stupid and boring.
And typical. These are qualities only a mother could love, but
unfortunately for Bad Company, this mother is Joel Schumacher.
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