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Bad Boys
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by Republic Pictures
Sales Rank: 96408
Price: $9.98
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Prior to starring in the hard-edged 1983 drama <I>Bad Boys</I>, Sean Penn had proven his early promise in the TV movie <I>The Killing of Randy Webster</I>, played a memorable supporting role in <I>Taps</I> (with fellow newcomer Tom Cruise), and created the definitive California surfer dude as the perpetually stoned Jeff Spicoli in <I>Fast Times at Ridgemont High</I>. But it was <I>Bad Boys</I> that cemented Penn's reputation as a rare talent--an actor whose skill transcended his youth, revealing a depth and maturity that the majority of his acting peers could only aspire to. That gravity and emotional dimension is evident throughout Penn's performance here as Mick O'Brien, a chronic offender whose path to a Chicago juvenile corrections facility seems utterly preordained. The institution is hardly conducive to reformation--it's a jail for problem kids, and a cauldron for all the societal ills that sent kids there in the first place. Mick's there because he was involved in a shootout during a botched robbery of drugs from rival street gangster Paco Moreno (Esai Morales), whose little brother was killed when Mick accidentally ran him over with his getaway car.<p> Overcrowding results in Mick and Paco's being sent to the same facility (one of the film's few stretches of credibility), and this leads to a rather predictable showdown that will take the juvie prison's violence to its inevitable extreme. It's a shame this conclusion ultimately doesn't live up to the film's superior first hour, but <I>Bad Boys</I> remains a remarkably authentic, even touching portrait of troubled youth whose torment is conveyed through thoughtful and richly emotional development of characters. Director Rick Rosenthal (who had previously helmed <I>Halloween II</I>) maintains a vivid sense of setting within the correctional facility's cold walls, and through the performances of Penn and a superb supporting cast (including Ally Sheedy in her film debut as Mick's girlfriend), <I>Bad Boys</I> emerges as one of the best films of its kind, forcing the viewer to ask difficult questions about at-risk youth and the proper way to improve or at least preserve their endangered lives. <I>--Jeff Shannon</I>
Viewer Reviews
This was one of my favorites when I was younger and I'm happy to see that I still enjoy it. Sean Penn's performance was great in this film. To include everyone else. It has a very good dark atmosphere, solid acting, and action.
Bad Boys of course stars Sean Penn as a lunatic delinquent. He pulls off a crime that kills a young kid and lands him in a youth prison. He has to put up with the other inmates plus fight for his life later.
This is a very exciting movie and I recommend this to those especially who are fans of 80's films. The DVD extras aren't that great. Containing just the trailer and commentary.
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Bad Boys
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