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Bad Boys: Special Edition
List Price: Unknown [Buy now and save at Amazon]
The Movie:
Director Michael Bay's first time directing a studio picture was this 1995 crime thriller starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Although Bay has said that he wasn't always happy with the script in this film, he also had two stars who were perfect together. Smith and Lawrence are terribly funny as they fight back and forth throughout the picture.
Smith plays Mike Lowry and Lawrence plays Marcus Barnett. After a giant amount of evidence in the form of heroin is stolen out of their station in the middle of the night, the two have 3 days to find it, or find themselves out of a job. They run into a witness to the murder of a friend of Lowry who can help them find the criminals; one mix-up later the two find themselves impersonating each other while trying to solve the case.
Again, the film is really saved by the two lead performers, who are perfect in their roles. It's interesting as well that this is really where I think Michael Bay has done his best work. For Bay, this would be a low-budget film and you get the sense that he took what he had in terms of plot, etc. and pulled every bit of energy he could from it. "The Rock" was fine, but "Armageddon" is becoming a little too much overload from Bay. The cinematography by Howard Atherton is frequently stunning, and Bay stages a number of great action scenes.
The DVD
VIDEO: One of the earliest Tristar titles, this is still anamorphic and it's still pretty impressive, although some of the indoor scenes look slightly soft and lacking in detail/definition. The rest of the film, especially the outdoor scenes in the Miami sunshine, look excellent. Colors are vibrant and well-saturated throughout.
Although there are a few scenes that look either a little soft or hazy, the rest of the film looks fine, with no pixelization or aliasing. Although the extras section is lacking, the picture quality shows that Tristar was doing great things even early on in DVD. Image is letterboxed at 1.85:1. This release contains the same transfer as the previous release, and it's a very enjoyable looking image, if not quite perfect.
SOUND: Certainly an enjoyable "action-movie" soundtrack. Surrounds are used to good effect, although not quite as often as I would expect from a film like this. This is still pretty agressive stuff on occasion, with strong bass. Mark Mancina's score sounds strong, and with good presence throughout the picture. Dialogue sounds fine throughout, clear and without problems. Again, same sound as the previous release.
MENUS:: Like the new special edition of "Cliffhanger", Tristar has prepared really striking animated main menus with a clip that opens the movie and animated main/sub-menus that are very well-done. Even the scene selection menu offers clips of each scene.
EXTRAS: Here's where the new special edition improves upon the featureless previous release. This special edition replaces the previous "movie-only" release.
Commentary: This is a commentary by director Michael Bay. Whether you like his films or not, Bay remains an engaging and intense personality that makes for a very interesting commentary(his commentary for "Armageddon" also was quite good, in my humble opinion). Both funny and informative, Bay leads us through the process of making his first major directorial effort, from the Miami locations to the problems with the lack of budget.
The other major issue that's discussed is the way that Bay worked around the screenplay and tried to take it beyond what was on the page, giving it a faster visual look and sharper dialogue, some of which was improvised by stars Smith and Martin Lawrence. On the subject of the stars, the discussion by Bay goes over his viewpoint on what it was like to work with both the stars, and how they shaped their roles. There are many other topics covered by Bay such as the original setup for the movie with Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz, as well what Bay brings from his background as a commercial director.
There are some minor pauses here and there where there's silence on the track, but for the most part Bay is energetic in sharing how he tried to overcome the challenges of making "Bad Boys". Like the Criterion "Armageddon" commentary, I really think Bay has put together another strong commentary. It would have definitely been nice if producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who provided a lot of interesting discussion on the "Armageddon" commentary, was paired with Bay again here, but Bay definitely does have enough information to carry the discussion on his own.
Damage Control: This is a "multiple angle" featurette; you can select either "firearms" or "pyrotechnics". What this lets you do is see the different weapons used in "Bad Boys" live, or watch some shots of explosions, both sets offer multiple angles to look at different perspectives.
"The Boom and Bang Of "Bad Boys": This is a featurette that goes into further detail about how the big blasts and fireworks of "Bad Boys" were accomplished. It offers interviews with director Bay as well as the special effects/weapons experts. This documentary lasts about 25 minutes total.
Trailers: Trailers for "Men In Black"(Dolby Digital 5.1), "Blue Streak"(Dolby Digital 5.1) and "Bad Boys"(Dolby 2.0).
Music Videos: Videos for "Shy Guy" by Diana King, "So Many Ways" by Warren G, "Five O, Five O" by 69 Boyz.
Also: Picture gallery, isolated music score(Dolby Digital 5.1) and talent files.
Final Thoughts: Although a lot of people seem to not like this picture terribly, I think it's a well-acted, sharp and funny picture that offers strong entertainment. The picture and audio quality are good, and the extras are very enjoyable, especially the commentary with Bay. Recommended.
Director Michael Bay's first time directing a studio picture was this 1995 crime thriller starring Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. Although Bay has said that he wasn't always happy with the script in this film, he also had two stars who were perfect together. Smith and Lawrence are terribly funny as they fight back and forth throughout the picture.
Smith plays Mike Lowry and Lawrence plays Marcus Barnett. After a giant amount of evidence in the form of heroin is stolen out of their station in the middle of the night, the two have 3 days to find it, or find themselves out of a job. They run into a witness to the murder of a friend of Lowry who can help them find the criminals; one mix-up later the two find themselves impersonating each other while trying to solve the case.
Again, the film is really saved by the two lead performers, who are perfect in their roles. It's interesting as well that this is really where I think Michael Bay has done his best work. For Bay, this would be a low-budget film and you get the sense that he took what he had in terms of plot, etc. and pulled every bit of energy he could from it. "The Rock" was fine, but "Armageddon" is becoming a little too much overload from Bay. The cinematography by Howard Atherton is frequently stunning, and Bay stages a number of great action scenes.
The DVD
VIDEO: One of the earliest Tristar titles, this is still anamorphic and it's still pretty impressive, although some of the indoor scenes look slightly soft and lacking in detail/definition. The rest of the film, especially the outdoor scenes in the Miami sunshine, look excellent. Colors are vibrant and well-saturated throughout.
Although there are a few scenes that look either a little soft or hazy, the rest of the film looks fine, with no pixelization or aliasing. Although the extras section is lacking, the picture quality shows that Tristar was doing great things even early on in DVD. Image is letterboxed at 1.85:1. This release contains the same transfer as the previous release, and it's a very enjoyable looking image, if not quite perfect.
SOUND: Certainly an enjoyable "action-movie" soundtrack. Surrounds are used to good effect, although not quite as often as I would expect from a film like this. This is still pretty agressive stuff on occasion, with strong bass. Mark Mancina's score sounds strong, and with good presence throughout the picture. Dialogue sounds fine throughout, clear and without problems. Again, same sound as the previous release.
MENUS:: Like the new special edition of "Cliffhanger", Tristar has prepared really striking animated main menus with a clip that opens the movie and animated main/sub-menus that are very well-done. Even the scene selection menu offers clips of each scene.
EXTRAS: Here's where the new special edition improves upon the featureless previous release. This special edition replaces the previous "movie-only" release.
Commentary: This is a commentary by director Michael Bay. Whether you like his films or not, Bay remains an engaging and intense personality that makes for a very interesting commentary(his commentary for "Armageddon" also was quite good, in my humble opinion). Both funny and informative, Bay leads us through the process of making his first major directorial effort, from the Miami locations to the problems with the lack of budget.
The other major issue that's discussed is the way that Bay worked around the screenplay and tried to take it beyond what was on the page, giving it a faster visual look and sharper dialogue, some of which was improvised by stars Smith and Martin Lawrence. On the subject of the stars, the discussion by Bay goes over his viewpoint on what it was like to work with both the stars, and how they shaped their roles. There are many other topics covered by Bay such as the original setup for the movie with Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz, as well what Bay brings from his background as a commercial director.
There are some minor pauses here and there where there's silence on the track, but for the most part Bay is energetic in sharing how he tried to overcome the challenges of making "Bad Boys". Like the Criterion "Armageddon" commentary, I really think Bay has put together another strong commentary. It would have definitely been nice if producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who provided a lot of interesting discussion on the "Armageddon" commentary, was paired with Bay again here, but Bay definitely does have enough information to carry the discussion on his own.
Damage Control: This is a "multiple angle" featurette; you can select either "firearms" or "pyrotechnics". What this lets you do is see the different weapons used in "Bad Boys" live, or watch some shots of explosions, both sets offer multiple angles to look at different perspectives.
"The Boom and Bang Of "Bad Boys": This is a featurette that goes into further detail about how the big blasts and fireworks of "Bad Boys" were accomplished. It offers interviews with director Bay as well as the special effects/weapons experts. This documentary lasts about 25 minutes total.
Trailers: Trailers for "Men In Black"(Dolby Digital 5.1), "Blue Streak"(Dolby Digital 5.1) and "Bad Boys"(Dolby 2.0).
Music Videos: Videos for "Shy Guy" by Diana King, "So Many Ways" by Warren G, "Five O, Five O" by 69 Boyz.
Also: Picture gallery, isolated music score(Dolby Digital 5.1) and talent files.
Final Thoughts: Although a lot of people seem to not like this picture terribly, I think it's a well-acted, sharp and funny picture that offers strong entertainment. The picture and audio quality are good, and the extras are very enjoyable, especially the commentary with Bay. Recommended.
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