![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/b/badcompany.jpg)
Bad Company (2002)
After setting up a meeting to buy a nuclear weapon from terrorists, CIA operative Kevin Pope (Chris Rock) is shot protecting his boss, master spy Oakes (Anthony Hopkins, not even bothering with an American accent). The CIA is frantic to replace their agent, but the company's only plan is to take Pope's twin brother Michael Hayes (Rock again) and use him in his place. The chief problem is that Michael didn't know he even had a twin brother — the two were separated at birth — and while Kevin was educated at Harvard, Michael makes his living as a street hustler and DJ. Partnered with Oakes, Hayes is given a crash-course from his brother's peers to get him up to speed so he can stop the terrorists. Bad Company (2002) is as generic as its title, so much so that often the film feels more like a blueprint for a movie than a fully realized effort as an action-comedy, and the final result is less than the sum of either part. One can suspect that producer Jerry Bruckheimer presumed he might be able to recapture the success of his Beverly Hills Cop franchise through Chris Rock after the comedian's breakthrough stand-up set "Bring the Pain." Unfortunately, Rock doesn't appear comfortable on screen, his comic timing is stifled (although occasionally he is amusing), and he never develops much of a relationship with Hopkins, who seems to be engaging in an act of somnambulistic check-cashing. Directed by Joel Schumacher, the whole thing reeks of high concept, but no one ever invests in the formula enough to make one care. Bring the pain indeed. Buena Vista's DVD release of Bad Company presents the film in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and in both DTS and Dolby Digital 5.1 audio. Extras include a 12-min. featurette and bonus trailers. Keep-case.
—DSH
