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| Genre: | Comedy |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Rating: | PG13 |
| Length: | 1 Hour 57 Minutes |
| Cast: | Joel Schumacher, Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock |
Teaming Chris Rock with Anthony Hopkins has to be one of the most bizarre casting decisions in Hollywood history, but these talented performers, polar opposites in almost every way, complement each other surprisingly well in this riveting spy thriller. Rock plays Jake Hayes, a fast-talking, streetwise hustler whose twin brother, a top CIA agent, is murdered prior to making an undercover arms deal. Upon learning that the weapon under consideration is a nuclear device intended for use inside the United States, Agency honcho Oakes (Hopkins) persuades Hayes to impersonate his brother, make the purchase, and help capture the terrorists sponsoring the plot. Most of the movie's first half details Jake's crash course in Espionage 101, with an alternately bemused and demoralized Oakes administering the lesson; there's also a nifty little subplot involving Jake's embarrassingly awkward wooing of his dead brother's girl friend (cutely played by NYPD Blue's Garcelle Beauvais-Nilon). Producer Jerry Bruckheimer supplies all the ingredients needed to guarantee the success of a contemporary action-adventure movie: fast action, spectacular stunts, big explosions, glib patter, stunning locations, and -- perhaps most of all -- star chemistry. Hopkins and Rock make an effective team; the film's success rests squarely on these two, and they prove themselves capable of shouldering that burden easily. Bad Company is not particularly deep. It's a popcorn movie, plain and simple, and one that delivers exactly what it promises at the outset: a surfeit of supercharged thrills and raucous humor Ed Hulse
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