BAD COMPANY

BAD COMPANY is the story of an undercover CIA agent, Gaylord Oakes (Anthony Hopkins), whose partner, Kevin (Chris Rock), gets killed while trying to track down a Russian nuclear bomb that has been put on the black market in Europe. The bad guy terrorists don’t know that Kevin is dead, and if they thought he was, they would take their bomb and run, and years of careful planning would go down the drain for the CIA. To make matters worse, a rival terrorist gang is starting to hone in on the deal, threatening to take the bomb into their own evil hands.

Thus, the CIA formulates a plan to locate Kevin’s twin brother, Jake Hayes (Chris Rock), (separated from Kevin at birth, of course), use him to stand in for his brother and fool the terrorists in a ruse that could save the world. The problem is that, while Kevin was a sophisticated, ivy-league educated man, Jake is merely a poor, but street-smart guy who plays chess and sells hot stadium tickets in New Jersey. To make matters worse, Jake’s girlfriend has just left him to take a well paying job with her ex-boyfriend on the west coast. Now, the CIA has only eight days to find, convince and train Jake, making him into a believable, internationally respected businessman that can deal with the bad guys in a savvy manner.

The CIA wants to keep Jake in the dark about the real dangers of the mission, but Gaylord wants to level with him. When Jake finally agrees to the deal (after being promised about $100K and threatened with death), there is no time to waste.

BAD COMPANY is the typical Jerry Bruckheimer movie, filled with action, humor and outrageous stunts. There are car chases, gunfights, helicopters, sirens, fistfights, dangling-from-ledges scenes, and the like. As a matter of fact, there is so much action that the story gets lost in the cacophony a few times.

Chris Rock does have some good lines like, “I feel like Michael Jackson looking at old album covers,” and “No! Why don’t YOU get the bomb, and I’LL cover YOU?” He makes a good, sometimes obnoxious, reluctant CIA agent.

Hopkin’s character, on the other hand, is not as funny or memorable. His character arc is ever so slight, and there is little natural chemistry or comedic timing between him and Chris Rock. It is tough to have two protagonists in a story, as there is little time to develop much “back story” or character progression in either.

The biggest complaint with BAD COMPANY might be its poorly timed theme of international terrorism. We’re getting plenty of that on the six o’ clock news these days, aren’t we? It is fortunate in the movie, however, that all the terrorists conveniently wear red scarves so we can spot them. One always likes to know which team has the most guys falling from balconies, dangling out from speeding cars and getting blown up in Grand Central Station or European monasteries.

Overall, BAD COMPANY delivers a lot of action and several good laughs, but it also comes with a lot of language, too much violence and allusions to sex, and a poorly timed theme of international terrorism. Filmed in Prague in the fascinating Czech Republic, the movie might be fun for a few heart-racing thrills, but it certainly will not be memorable a year from now.