Too much action in Bad Boys II

Guns! Cars! Explosions! Oh my! That might just be all there is to say about Bad Boys II. On the other hand, besides the high-speed car chases, the numerous shootouts and the excessive use of the "f-bomb," Bad Boys II does have some incredibly hilarious scenes coupled with a somewhat confusing plot.

Like the original Bad Boys, the sequel is a unique movie, serving both laughs and action. But as it generally goes in Hollywood, the sequel is not as good as its predecessor.

Bad Boys II opens with a drug bust. Johnny Tapia (Jordi Molla) is smuggling ecstasy into the U.S. from Cuba. Thanks to policeman Mike Lowery's (Will Smith) inside contact, the police know exactly where to go to intercept the drugs: a KKK gathering. Mike and his partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) go undercover to capture those involved with the drug trade. In the middle of a chant, the duo take off the infamous white robes and pointy hats and, surprise, the police are here to break up the Klan's fun. The Klan's unsuspected guests are not only cops but African American ones. You can just imagine the looks on the real Klan members' faces. After a quick exchange of race related remarks, the first shootout takes place in which Marcus gets shot in the butt by none other than his trustworthy partner, Mike.

This incident only increases the tension between the partners, who say that they ride and die together. It turns out that Marcus has been having trouble with his extremely reckless partner for awhile and plans to switch partners after this assignment. Adding even more to Marcus' frustrations, Mike shows up unannounced to Marcus' family barbecue, where we find out that Mike and Marcus' little sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union), have been secretly dating. Luckily, Marcus does not find out about their love affair, as he would have likely gone nuts.

Just as Marcus is letting out his anger, Mike gets a call from his inside source telling him that another ecstasy drop is about to happen. The pair follows the car carrying the money. A surprise twist – Syd is the driver. After a high-speed chase involving mass destruction they catch Syd, only to find that she is working undercover on the same case. In a not-so-smart move, they let the real culprits get away with their money.

Following these exciting opening scenes, the movie follows a simple formula: a few action scenes proceeded by some comedic relief. This wouldn't be all that bad if the movie was only another 45 minutes long. Instead the formula keeps repeating itself for another two hours. Don't get me wrong, there were some funny moments, but car chase after shootout after explosion just becomes tiresome after a while. Of course, this may sound incredibly appealing to those driven by testosterone, but I just could not fully appreciate this action-packed movie.

Rarely, however, does one find an action movie with such great humor. In one scene, Mike and Marcus go to a Circuit City-like store to get a closer look at a tape that could be used to find the man responsible for the ecstasy trade. After about 30 seconds of useful footage, the tape quickly turns into porn and the nervous employee showing them the video accidentally flips a switch that shows the video to the entire store. With loud mouth, complaining customers, Mike and Marcus make their way to a private room, where many cameras record Marcus' private confessions to Mike about his inability to please his wife ever since he was shot in his behind. Hilarity ensues.

The comedy is what really saves Bad Boys II. Otherwise, like Marcus say, it would simply be awarded for the most shootouts in a week, or in this case, a movie.

Bad Boys II is rated R for strong violence and action, pervasive language, sexuality and drug content. It is playing in theatres in the area.