Bad Company

Rating:
Summary: waste of time, film and money (spoilers)
Review: Because he gets to play the part of identical twins, Chris Rock is given the opportunity - rare for a lead player - of having his character die in the opening scene. Considering the quality of the film as a whole, he might well regret that BOTH characters don't get to bite the dust early on.

But stuck in the film he is - and he, co-star Anthony Hopkins, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joel Schumacher are going to have to live with the stain of this embarrassment on their records for a very long time to come (hence, the appropriately named "Bad Company"). The screenplay by James Richman and Michael Browning tells the tedious tale of one Jack Hayes, a ne'er-do-well New York City shyster, who is employed by the CIA to impersonate the twin brother he never knew he had, a brother who was recently killed in action trying to retrieve a portable nuclear bomb from some Middle Eastern terrorists. Anthony Hopkins plays Gaylord Oakes, a seasoned CIA operative whose job it is to "groom" Hayes for the mission.

It would be hard to overestimate just how mediocre this production really is. The storyline is flat and unimaginative, the villains bland and colorless, the humor weak and poorly executed, the action scenes routine and strangely truncated. The "grooming" sequences are particularly unimpressive, since Hayes seems like essentially the same person after the lessons as he was before them (think of it as James Bond meets "My Fair Lady"). About the only news here is that Schumacher seems, for the most part, to have abandoned his Cuisinart-style approach to directing and editing, choosing instead to shoot and splice the film in a basically humdrum, static way. The result is a talky film in which no one says anything that is of even the slightest interest either to each other or to the audience stuck watching the spectacle.

Apparently, the action film genre has become so depleted of ideas that the best filmmakers can do at this point is to concoct a fantasy scenario in which a wisecracking Average Joe gets to save the world from total nuclear destruction in time to say "I do" to that longsuffering girl waiting patiently back home. This sort of preposterous premise may work well in "Austin Powers"-like parodies, but it hardly merits serious attention in a straight action-adventure tale such as this one. And frankly, I am beginning to question the appropriateness of using the threat of nuclear annihilation by terrorists as a source for mindless mass audience entertainment. When will some gifted filmmaker finally come along to address this issue with the kind of seriousness and gravity that it so obviously deserves?

Neither Hopkins nor Rock can be faulted for their performances. They do the best they can with the material they've been handed. Hopkins, in particular though, needs to start signing on to more challenging assignments before the lease runs out on his reputation as one of the world's premier actors.

About the best that can be said for "Bad Company" is that it affords us an opportunity to armchair travel to photogenic Prague (remember "Slaughterhouse-Five"). That exquisite locale at least gives us something to look at for the two hours we're stranded in the theatre.

Rating:
Summary: Not Bad
Review: Chris Rock is always going give a stellar performance, and that is exactly what takes place in Bad Company. The movie is not great by any means and really doesn't deserve the right to be talked a lot about. Is it entertaining though? Yes.

The plot is somewhat weak and the directing is nothing out of the ordinary, but somehow Bad Company keeps your attention. The action scenes were a little over done and kind of out there, but they were adequate enough.

Chris Rock practically carried the movie with his sense of humor and good acting chops. Anthony Hopkins does his thing and is pretty good, but not stellar. He definitely took a different direction with this movie, and I can't say I can fault him. There's nothing worse than to be type-cast.

Bad Company wasn't a terrible movie and it wasn't great. I was able to watch the whole thing, and sometimes that's a feat in itself. It's not a movie to pick apart and dissect every scene. It's just good quality entertainment that you don't have to think a lot about, and sometimes that's just good enough. 3 Stars

Rating:
Summary: RATING ON WWW.AMAZON.COM
Review: Everyone,

The movie "Bad Company" with Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock is rated PG-13 Parental Guidance Suggested and some mild language.

Rating:
Summary: Great Movie!
Review: Excellent suspense/action movie! You see an "old friend" in Anthony Hopkins. His character is witty, calm and calculating. I find Mr. Hopkins very versatile in the various characters he has played in other movies. Chris Rock is excellent in his portrayal of the two identical twins separated at birth. The plot of this story falls in the category of the current situation of world terrorism. If this movie had been released before 9/11 it would not be as believable as it is today. The "street wise" antics of the CIA agent's identical twin (Chris Rock) contrasts well with the calm demeanor of Anthony Hopkin's character.

Excellent casting! Keeps you on the edge of your seat and at the sametime, you find yourself chuckling at the various antics of the street wise character played by Chris Rock.

I'd rate this movie as a "go see" and "very buyable" when it is released on DVD and VHS format.

Rating:
Summary: Better than I anticipated
Review: From the reviews I heard, and read, I was expecting Bad Company to be a horrible movie. This movie was actually not bad. Granted there were some far fetched issues, like Anthony Hopkins running up flights of stairs in no time, but too me this movie was a good action comedy.

Chris Rock plays Mike Turner/Jacob Hayes. As Jacob Hayes, he is a bookie/DJ/hustler who is coming to terms with his ending relationship with Julia who after three years is moving to Seattle to move on with her life. Jacob is brought into the CIA to help finish a case his now murdered brother Mike Turner was working on. Agent Oaks has 9 days to make Jacob as polished and knowledge as Hayes to make the mission a success. Jacob is to help twart a possible suitcase bomb from getting into the wrong hands. As Mike Hayes he has to speak well, and well act like his brother without blowing the whole case. Turns out he can mix his street smarts and get over. He can't fool everybody though. When Nicole (played by Garcelle Beauvais) she knows right off he is not Mike. Jacob has to dodge bullets, and is ready to leave the case all together until His girlfriend Juila is kidnapped by the bad guys.

The movie had some great action scenes. Some of the comedic lines were out of place, but the comedic lines that did fit well in the film were funny. The scene where puts Air supply son "All out of Love" on in a club was very, very funny. Those folks in the club looked like they were about to jump him!!! Kerry Washington has a bright future if she keeps getting some good roles. Irma P Hall has a role in the film as Jacob foster mother. Michael Early also had a very small minor role, so small and minor there was really no sense in him being in the film. The same with Garcelle Beauvais her role was so minor I wondered if it was really necessary. Aside of that I really enjoyed this film, the movie is predictable at time, but interesting enough to keep you watching. I would actually rent this again.

If you enjoyed Rush Hour, or Enemy of the State then you should enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Better than I anticipated
Review: From the reviews I heard, and read, I was expecting Bad Company to be a horrible movie. This movie was actually not bad. Granted there were some far fetched issues, like Anthony Hopkins running up flights of stairs in no time, but too me this movie was a good action comedy.

Chris Rock plays Mike Turner/Jacob Hayes. As Jacob Hayes, he is a bookie/DJ/hustler who is coming to terms with his ending relationship with Julia who after three years is moving to Seattle to move on with her life. Jacob is brought into the CIA to help finish a case his now murdered brother Mike Turner was working on. Agent Oaks has 9 days to make Jacob as polished and knowledge as Hayes to make the mission a success. Jacob is to help twart a possible suitcase bomb from getting into the wrong hands. As Mike Hayes he has to speak well, and well act like his brother without blowing the whole case. Turns out he can mix his street smarts and get over. He can't fool everybody though. When Nicole (played by Garcelle Beauvais) she knows right off he is not Mike. Jacob has to dodge bullets, and is ready to leave the case all together until His girlfriend Juila is kidnapped by the bad guys.

The movie had some great action scenes. Some of the comedic lines were out of place, but the comedic lines that did fit well in the film were funny. The scene where puts Air supply son "All out of Love" on in a club was very, very funny. Those folks in the club looked like they were about to jump him!!! Kerry Washington has a bright future if she keeps getting some good roles. Irma P Hall has a role in the film as Jacob foster mother. Michael Early also had a very small minor role, so small and minor there was really no sense in him being in the film. The same with Garcelle Beauvais her role was so minor I wondered if it was really necessary. Aside of that I really enjoyed this film, the movie is predictable at time, but interesting enough to keep you watching. I would actually rent this again.

If you enjoyed Rush Hour, or Enemy of the State then you should enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Doesn't Quite Live up to Expectations!!!!
Review: I have to admit, judging by the trailer and commercials, I walked into theis movie with pretty high hopes. The pairing of Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock seemed perfect! (Fan of both!) Unfortunatley, from the minute the movie started, I could tell I was'nt going to get what I had been hoping for. Kind of stuck in between being a serious action flick and a comedy, Bad Company is really a hit or miss thing. I laughed a few times, but the movie never seemed to really hit it's potential. Overall Opinion: Wait for the video release!

Rating:
Summary: Bad Company
Review: I really liked this movie even though most reviews I've read give this movie an average rating, it deserves an above average rating. Chris Rock isn't as raw in his comedy as he is today however, it is a Disney made movie because Touchstone is owned by Disney so anytime you see Touchstone the movie will more than likely be more conservative. The movie was really entertaining especially being a huge fan of Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. Who would think to put the combination of stars (Anthony and Chris) together and have it work so well together. Plus both of the actors were believable. It's definitly worth watching and I'm going to buy this one on DVD.

Rating:
Summary: Truly Surprised
Review: I remember when this movie came out in theaters. I saw the previews on TV, but was not driven to go out to see it. I just thought that Hopkins/Rock was a wierd mixture that couldn't possibly create a good movie. I was wrong. I saw the DVD on sale and picked it up, as I was interested in seeing how it actually was. I was truly surprised at how good the movie was. Of course, since it has Chris Rock in it, it has some good laughs, but in general, it's a well constructed espionage flick that's well worth seeing.

Rating:
Summary: one liners from hell
Review: I SAW BAD COMPANY AT A SNEAK PREVIEW. BOY DO I FEEL SORRY FOR ALL THE MANY OF PEOPLE THAT ARE GOING TO PAY TO SEE THIS MOVIE. O.K. THE MOVIE ISN'T TERRIBLE. IF YOU LAUGHT AT THE TRAILER, YOU MIGHT LAUGH A LIL' MORE DURING THE MOVIE, BUT NOT MUCH. THERE ARE A FEW FUNNY MOMENTS, BUT THE DIALOGUE IS MADE UP OF ABOUT 1000 ONE LINERS. ALOT OF GOOD ACTION SCENES WASTED ON ALOT OF LAME EVENTS THAT COULD NEVER TAKE PLACE IN THE TIME FRAME GIVIN'. BOTTOM LINE IS, MOVIES THAT TRY TO SURVIVE OFF OF 1 ONE LINER LEADING UP TO ANOTHER NEED TO RETHINK THEMSELVES. HOPKINS AND ROCK DO WELL WITH WHAT THEY WERE GIVIN'. LET'S HOPE THERE'S NOT A SEQUEL IN THE WORKS. ONE LAST THING, I SAW THIS FILM WITH 5 OTHER PEOPLE. 1/5 PEOPLE LOVED THIS MOVIE.