No. 51 Bad Boys II (2003) 16 of 100

Here’s another early, and brief, Shannon entry, coming just after his sterling work on ‘Kangaroo Jack’. It’s a massive production and having seen the film years ago I couldn’t have told you that he was in it. He is though, and does OK trying to get noticed amongst the explosions and body mutilations.

Despite being nearly 2.5 hours in length there is not a lot of plot to speak of and the film is essentially a load of action sequences taped together with the flimsiest of stories.

Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are the titular Bad (at acting) Boys who were childhood friends and are now cops in Miami. Smith has a trust fund which means he can drive around in a Ferrari and wear loads of bling. Lawrence is a family man and although meant to be hard up he has a pretty sweet crib on the seafront. He has a demanding family including a horny sister who is banging Smith on the side.

We open with a drugs boat coming in with loads of ecstasy. We see the drugs being manufactured in Holland before going through various hands and eventually arriving in Miami. The DEA are on the case however and there are lots of fast edits as their helicopters and gun laden agents track the shipment. The drugs are destined for a KKK group who for some reason (cover?) are having a big rally on the harbour front complete with a burning cross. Clearly our two black heroes aren’t too keen on this gathering and almost immediately the lead begins to fly. Among the Grand Wizard’s men is Shannon who has a blink and you’ll miss it appearance.

The boys get some drugs but not the cargo that the snitch suggested. To compound their troubles Smith shoots Lawrence in the ass which only adds to their tensions together.

There are multiple scenes of car chases and property damage as our hero detectives manage to work out that the drug kingpin is smuggling drugs in to the country in dead bodies and moving the cash out in coffins. This revelation leads to a raid on the drug boss’ funeral home and a pretty distasteful car chase where dead bodies are falling from a truck.

After a predictable bawling out from the Chief and a fall out for our boys the bust is a partial success but wait! There’s more stuff to explode so the baddie kidnaps the sister/girlfriend and heads to Cuba. Our guys agree to one last mission to rescue the lady and enlist a load of black ops helpers to raid the Kingpin’s compound. Will they nail the bad guy and rescue the sister – and can they bond once again so that further sequels can happen?!

This was an awful film that for some reason I’d left an 8/10 score on IMDb following my first watch 20 odd years ago. I’m probably getting old and cynical but it was really just a pile of crap. A lot of stuff like the slow motion shooting and tilted guns had the piss ripped out of it in ‘Hot Fuzz’ and you could argue it’s of its time. It was just so boring though, with explosions and property damage taking the place of plot and narrative. I had to watch in three sittings as 45 minutes of yelling and blasts was as much as I could manage in one session.

Shannon appears momentarily at the start but then turns up again later on. His reappearance comes with a flashback, as the viewers quite rightly would have no idea who the character was. I wonder if this is because Shannon impressed them and they expanded the role or if they need someone back to allow for some exposition? I’m guessing the latter as Shannon's character Floyd gives everyone up as well as the Kingpin’s schedule and plans. For his trouble he spends most of a car chase in the boot and is only let out as an after thought. He is decent but I didn’t buy him as a KKK member, and 'hapless henchman' would probably cover his range in this one.

I certainly won’t be watching this one again as I’ve had enough explosions, buddy cop banter and corpse mutilation to keep me going for infinity and beyond.

When is Shannon-On? - 06.45

Outcome? Freed From a trunk and complaining about his rights being violated (correctly).

Film 2.5/5

Shannon Stars 2.5/5