Bad Company

I don't really know what I expected from this film, but I certainly found much more than I had been looking for. Given that it stars Chris Rock, I did expect a great deal of irreverent, silly comedy. What I found, instead, was an interesting spy film and a very, very odd buddy picture.

The acting from both Rock and Hopkins is exceptional. The plot, while a bit thin, is interesting.

The film pulled me in and held me from beginning to end.

Street punk (Chris Rock) discovers his stranged brother was a state agent who has just been killed . Then the African-American street-wise hustler is drafted into CIA Agency to carry out an operation , being experienced Agent Oakes (Anthony Hopkins) the Company's grey eminence to train him in place of the murdered twin he knew he had. He has nine days to fill his brother's place. Two Mismatched Partners. One Messed Up Case! The World is in Good Hands . These Two People Are In Bad Company!

Typical plot about identity replacement in which a roguish young is drafted by US agency honcho Hopkins to take over his bro' mission , which involves terrorists , destructive bomb , nuclear warhead , mayhem and the tourist cities of Prague and New York City . Considering these so-so elements , it's no wonder this one got delayed its premiere . Cue a crash course in spy school , knee-jerk thrills involving Eastern European terrorists in tight leather trousers , hilarious scenes , spurious intrigue with nuclear device ticking away at the heart of Manhattan and some of the least funny shtick this side of global meldown . Stars Chris Rock who deserved a better film , but he salvages this one, at times ; anyway , he gives a sympathetic acting . He's up against a standard issue plot that merely serves to get to the next action set piece which, this being a Jerry Bruckheimer lavish production, are done well , but done too often. The two likable main actors : Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins , are well accompanied by a fine support cast with plenty of familiar faces , such as : John Slattery , Kerry Washington , Matthew Marsh , Gabriel Macht , Garcelle Beauvais, Peter Stormare, Brooke Smith, Irma P. Hall , Daniel Sunjata , among others.

It displays a climatic and moving musical score by composer Trevor Rabin . Likewise , colorful and brilliant cinematography by cameraman Dariusz Wolski, including a lot of sightseeing from bridge of Prague, Czech, Railway station Praha hlavni nadrazi, Wilsonova, Prague, Czech Republic, Grand Central Terminal, New York City, World Trade Center, Manhattan, New York City, Calvary Cemetery, Woodside, Queens, New York, USA. Made in usual syle by Joel Schumacher whose credits include some of the most egregious Hollywood codswallop of the last thirty years , such as : ¨Dying young¨, ¨A time to kill¨ , ¨Flatners¨, ¨Batman and Robin¨, ¨Batman Forver¨ and he also made a successful musical ¨Phantom of Opera¨ . As Schumacher manages to submit his worst insticts , but it doesn't really help. Rating : 5.5/10 . Acceptable and passable, but average . The flick will appeal to Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins fans.

When does a knighted actor collect a paycheck? When he acts benightedly in a cliched spy thriller that is a virtual textbook of Hollywood expectations, right down to the scruffy mid-eastern terrorists and the oversized red digital readout on a nuclear bomb.

Anthony Hopkins plays a CIA veteran who must train a streetwise kid, played by Chris Rock, how to act like a real agent in 9 days. You can guess the outcome; in fact you can guess every scene before it unfolds. Movies like this make me know I couldn't do reviewing for a day job-I'd have to see bombs like this everyday. Did I say bomb again? Did we just have one come to America in `Sum of All Fears'?

I am committed to saying something favorable for all movies if I can. Hopkins is always interesting to watch: he underplays here with a `sang froid' that would make Hannibal Lecter proud. The bad side of `Bad Company' is the bug-eyed, monotone, hysterical Chris Rock, who may have been medicated for this role because I didn't have to cover my ears this time-I just bore up under his boring delivery.

Brooke Smith, who was the captured girl in `Silence of the Lambs', plays Hopkins' partner. `Lambs' this is not.

The film moves rapidly enough for espionage junkies. There, I said 2 good things. The movie still is `bad' company for the serious filmgoer.

After reading so many negative reviews of this movie, I expected the worst and almost didn't see it. But I was in the mood for a movie and it was the only one showing that I hadn't already seen that was even remotely of interest to me. To my surprise I enjoyed the movie and where I think so many critics went wrong was to view this movie as a comedy, which it really isn't, except for a few humorous moments as might be expected in any such action movie. And Anthony Hopkins actually played his role the way it should have been played. It was not a role calling for a wild comic genius but one calling for a very serious-minded professional who is involved in trying to train a novice in just a few days for a deadly game involving a nuke. Chris Rock also played his role as it should have been played and restrained himself from his usual antics, as in "Lethal Weapon 4." Not a great movie but much better than the awful "The Sum Of All Fears."

Chris Rock is hilarious in this film. Anthony Hopkins is good too.

It includes many funny scenes and the action is also good. But the plot it's nothing special at all and the film is not very bad but not very good either. If Chris Rock were not in it, it would be bad. I would rate it a 6/10