Reel Critics

Craig Von Freymann

“Bad Company” is a serviceable spy movie that provides a vehicle for

Chris Rock to be Chris Rock. Unfortunately, it could have been a much

better movie without the spy stuff. Let Chris Rock be Chris Rock all the

time, forget the high tech, the intrigue, the saving the world. Let Rock

make jokes and goof on people. He’s much better at that than being James

Bond. This is no knock on Rock, just a simple fact. He’s not Sean

Connery. He’s not even Roger Moore.

The movie opens with beautiful, atmospheric shots of Prague and

smoke-filled back rooms, which only international spies inhabit. We are

introduced to Kevin Pope (Rock), suave CIA agent posing undercover as

international antiques dealer Michael Turner. In addition to buying and

selling art, Michael is negotiating the purchase of a suitcase nuke from

an evil former Soviet colonel. Everything about the scene is right except

for Rock. He just is not believable as the straight-laced CIA agent. He

is so not right; he is killed shortly thereafter setting up the standard

fish out of water Hollywood summer blockbuster. Low and behold, Michael

has an identical twin brother living in New Jersey.

The set up is straight out of “Twins”: twin brothers separated at

birth, one with every opportunity and break, the other one with nothing

but the love of his foster mother. Now the world’s only hope is for the

wise old agent Oakes (Anthony Hopkins) to recruit and train the street

hustling Rock to impersonate the twin he never knew he had.

This is why I had a real problem with the movie. The introduction to

the new Rock character, Jake Hayes, is too good. He is a slick street

hustler getting by scalping concert tickets and hustling chess in the

park. Jake loves his life and wants nothing more to make a buck and tell

a joke. His beautiful girlfriend Julie (Kerry Washington) wants nothing

more than for Jake to grow up and make an honest living. Tired of waiting

for him to get his life together, Julie accepts a job across the country

in Seattle. Julie promptly dumps Jake setting up a great bit with Jake,

as a club DJ, playing nothing but breakup music at the club. It’s simple

and funny. The look on his face and club goers is priceless. Without any

effort, Rock pops off one-liners and has the audience rolling.

But the movie does not stay with this and soon enough we see Jake in

the all-too predictable training montage.

The European action scenes are serviceable if not all too familiar. If

you’ve seen “Ronan” you’ve seen the best parts of “Bad Company.” There

are car chases, gunfights, physical stunts and beautiful locations. The

villains, both Russians and Chechens, are believable and entertaining. It

turns out that the Chechens want the bomb and will do anything to

eliminate their competition. Rock must dodge and fast-talk his way out of

one scrap after another. Rock does a good job with the physical work of

the movie and adds a flash of style into otherwise routine action scenes.

There are cliffhangers, twists and turns. The action is well paced and

keeps the audience involved.

* CRAIG VON FREYMANN, 33, Is an avid surfer who enjoys the quality of

life and numerous leisure activities the city offers.