Watching _Bad Boys_ now, twenty-five years after its initial release, it's tempting to write it off as a dated, problematic, flimsy vehicle for a post-_Fresh Prince of Bel Air_ Will Smith. It is all of these things, undeniably, and yet there is something about it that elevates it above much of the similar output from the same period. The more I think about it, the more this seems to be solely to do with the chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Smith, who manage to play off one another so well that when we're forced to watch some overblown action sequence I'm wishing the film would return to the two bickering.

Stylistically, it shows off what are now well-worn Bay tropes: slow motion, wafer-thin plot, Miami bathed in permanent ochre. There's something nightmarish about many of the indoor scenes; intentionally or not, Bay manages to make these seem claustrophobic and unsettling. The action is okay—it does what it needs to but isn't spectacular and lacks the bloat and real pizazz that was to come in its sequel.

The conceit of Mike and Marcus having to swap identities is laughably formulaic but gives rise to a few entertaining moments. A lot of the writing is cheap and wouldn't pass muster today for a variety of reasons but, thankfully, it never quite tips over into egregious offensiveness.

_Bad Boys_ appeals mostly as an example of how far a film can be carried by charm and rapport; that isn't to say that anything else about the film is overly sloppy or badly done, just that it doesn't elevate itself in any other regard.