OPENS OCTOBER 3, CERT 15, 146 MINS
Jive-talkin’, gun-totin’, Miami-destroyin’ detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back laying waste to the Sunshine State eight years after their first outing made superstars of Will Smith, Martin Lawrence and director Michael Bay. This time around, the threadbare plot involves our bickering heroes taking on ecstasy dealers, having fun with drug-laden cadavers, imperilling the lives of their loved ones and ultimately, erm, invading Cuba with a crack squad of US commandos.
It’s all riotous, overlong pyrotechnic fun, and a welcome back-to-basics step for Bay after the simplistic repackaging of US history that was Pearl Harbor. Unfortunately, by the time the hugely improbable climax rolls around, you just can’t escape the feeling that, while Bay is the undisputed master of the epic action set-piece, he just can’t bear to streamline his work.
Bad Boys II undoubtedly provides plenty of easy laughs and cartoon violence but two-and-a-half hours is way too long for an action flick without a script.