Search - Bad Company on DVD

Leendert S. (qrazydutch) from OAK HARBOR, WA
Reviewed on 3/10/2009...

Two great actors, two great flicks....enuf said.

1 of 6 member(s) found this review helpful.

Bad Company - Very good escapist movie - worth seeing

Julie A. Smith | Cleveland, Ohio United States | 06/05/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I went to see this movie on June 3rd at a preview screening...The theater was full, and judging by the reaction of the rest of the audience as the movie progressed, I would have to say that most other viewers agreed with me and enjoyed the movie as well.
Chris Rock plays a dual role as a CIA agent and his twin brother (separated by adoption as infants) who didn't know of each other's existence. When the agent is killed in the middle of a deal, the CIA pays a visit to his brother, a small-time bookie with a good heart and an aversion to 'suits'. He is talked into playing the role of his brother in order to complete the deal that was in progress.
Anthony Hopkins' talent makes the best of the rather mediocre script given to his character, and his character becomes a character you sympathize with and root for.
There are many laughable moments in this movie, and it moves along at a very good pace ... there are some predictable turns but enough unpredictability to keep you guessing.
I left the movie with the thought "I'm glad I went; it was well worth seeing".
Oscar-caliber? No. Good entertainment? Yes; definitely. Put this on your summer movie list; you won't be sorry you did."

Waste of time, film and money (spoilers)

Roland E. Zwick | Valencia, Ca USA | 06/10/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"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."

More Than Expected!

Dr Victor S Alpher | Austin, Texas, U.S.A. | 06/06/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't usually watch a film too concerned about who is in it, who produced and directed it. If any of these are familiar, so much the better (e.g., Tony Scott). First of all, the pairing of Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock was simply a surprise. The soundtrack is excellent (and who cares if any of it was used before?). It begins as what looks like a fairly serious film (several killings in Prague) and then BAM! it is a comedy. If they spent any time showing how they figured out that Michael Turner (Kevin Pope's alias) had a twin brother (the husling Jake Hayes) it would have spoiled the film completely.

Much of the hilarity and charm of this film comes from that BAM--and it comes through. Does anyone expect Anthony Hopkins to be anything but dry as an FBI Agent? I mean, his boss, after all, seems to be 30 years younger than him. Why is he taking orders? Why does he have a crew of geeky 30-somethings to handle, as well as groom Jake Hayes for a critical job?

It isn't perfect. I'll bet Chris Rock made up 40% of his lines on the spot (like, what does C.I.A. stand for?). Anyone expecting "Three Days of the Condor" gets what is expected, disappointment. Taken for what it is (such as, why is one of the head criminals an ex-K.G.B. Colonel named "Vas" which is at best an OLD nickname for an out-of-date Russian first name.....it moves, it is funny, and is definitely worth two viewings, so at least, well, $9.99. And there are so FEW comedies worth the time these days!!!"