After the ShoWest tribute to Michael Bay surfaced this weekend, I decided that it’s been entirely too long since I’ve watched anything of his other than “Transformers”. Yesterday’s viewing of “Bad Boys” and this review kicks off my Michael Bay movie-a-thon. My plan is to watch each of his films in order before “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” opens up on June 24th.

1995’s “Bad Boys” represents Bay’s first feature film as well as his first (of 5 so far) collaborations with mega producer Jerry Bruckheimer. Coming a full decade after Bruckheimer’s “Beverly Hills Cop”, it is a quintessential fast talking buddy cop action flick. For anyone that hasn’t seen it (sacrilege!), picture ‘BHC’ as a two man show. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, two relative unknowns at the time, singlehandedly carry the movie.

The film’s plot revolves around the theft of almost two hundred million dollars worth of heroin from inside the Miami Police Department. An inside job, it is Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey’s (Smith) responsibility as narcotics cops to do anything in their ability to find out who pulled it off. Joe Pantoliano plays Captain Howard, their boss and the guy who ultimately has to deal with their wrecking crew methods. Plus there’s Tea Leoni as the third wheel – a witness they need to protect. To describe any more then that is to describe half the cop movies out there.

The strength of “Bad Boys” lies not in the story or concept but in the execution. Smith and Lawrence are fantastic together. Lawrence’s Burnett is a family man with kids, a mortgage and a wife he’s constantly trying to get some from. Smith’s Lowrey is the ultimate smooth talking bachelor with a trust fund and a fast car and all the booty he can shake a stick at. Their characters are such polar opposites and they play off of each other so well that when Bay isn’t editing his action, he’s editing some absolutely hilarious banter. The quick cuts and the back and forth between the two main characters really help move the film along. The relationship between Burnett and Lowry form the bulk of the film. I say this because “Bad Boys” is not jam-packed full of action. Obviously it has its large set piece moments but you can tell that there is restraint both creatively and due to the budget. When things are not exploding, the two leads are bickering and it works really well. When I first saw this film, I never got annoyed and even watching it recently, their shtick didn’t get irritating. Plus Pantoliano as Captain Howard is beautiful to watch as he interacts with his two ‘bad boys’. His exasperation is palpable and he really enhances every scene he’s in.

But it’s Michael Bay that puts it all together. Amidst the comedy and the action, he injected his then soon to be signatures. The up-close hero shots, his larger than life use of light including spotlights and sunlight gleams, and last but not least fast cars, gun fights and huge explosions.

I can’t believe I’m going to say this but Martin Lawrence is great in “Bad Boys” (“I’m Mike Lowwerrry!”). I’m really not a huge fan generally. And can you blame me? What with a bunch of pretty terrible run of the mill films under his belt. Recently he’s gotten fairly stale yet in “Bad Boys” he shines – even more so then Will Smith who you could tell wasn’t as comfortable in front of the camera as Lawrence was. However, seeing this piece from so far back in their careers really helps me appreciate how far Will Smith has come and unfortunately, how wasted Lawrence’s talents have been.

The bottom line: 4/5. “Bad Boys” is where it all began. It’s a modestly (by Bay standards) built film with awesome comedy and some signature action sequences. While it is not his best, it is definitely a classic.