.gif)
Bad Company (2002 film)
Encyclopedia
Bad Company is a 2002 action-comedy film
directed by Joel Schumacher
, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
and starring Anthony Hopkins
and Chris Rock
.
goes bad, CIA
agent Kevin Pope (Rock) is killed. Pope was working undercover as an antiquities dealer under the name Michael Turner. The CIA, who is desperate to complete the mission discovers that Agent Pope had a twin brother, Jake Hayes (also Rock), from whom he was separated at birth; their mother died giving birth and Hayes suffered from an ear infection that prompted the doctors to separate them because they felt that Hayes was unlikely to live for very long. Hayes hustles chess games, scalps tickets and works at small clubs in Jersey City
to make ends meet. Meanwhile Hayes's girlfriend, Julie (Washington) grows tired of waiting for him to grow up and decides to move to Seattle, Washington.
After the CIA successfully persuades Hayes into participating and begins to train Hayes for a mission that is to take place in Prague
(Czech Republic
), they are initially dismayed by his lack of refinement. Agent Oakes (Hopkins) confronts Hayes telling him he doesn't trust him. When Hayes begins paying attention, the CIA sets him up in his brother's old apartment in Manhattan
to test him and try to bait the men who killed his brother. Hayes is attacked, but escapes unharmed. Looking for a way out, Hayes goes to his foster mother only to be found by Oakes who persuades him to finish the mission.
After arriving in Prague, Hayes meets with the men selling the suitcase bomb posing as his dead brother. The seller, Adrik Vas, is an ex-Russian Army Colonel with ties to the Russian Mafia
. When they return to their hotel, Hayes is greeted by his brother's ex-girlfriend Nicole. Believing that Hayes is his brother the two have dinner and return to the hotel only to be ambushed by rival buyers. Nicole figures out Hayes isn't his brother and returns to her assignment covering the Balkans for CNN
.
Moving forward with the plans, Hayes and Oakes meet up with Adjanic and are able to steal the arming codes. Just as they close the deal, Vas' men double cross him with the rival buyer. When the rival dealers, who are part of a Greek terrorist organization, learn they can't detonate the bomb because of the missing codes, they kidnap Julie. Hayes gives himself up trying to save his girlfriend and the terrorists get the codes back and arm the bomb.
Now the race begins to find Hayes and the bomb. After interrogating one of the captured terrorists, they track the bomb to Grand Central Station. With the clock ticking, they locate the bomb and Andre who has started the countdown. Oakes rescues Hayes by killing two terrorists. As Hayes starts to enter the codes to disarm the bomb, Andre holds Julie hostage. In order to distract Andre, Hayes pretends to shoot Oakes and they kill Andre by shooting him repeatedly. Hayes is able to disarm the bomb just prior to detonation.
At the ending of the film, Hayes visits the memorial for deceased secret agents to visit his brother's grave. Later on, Oakes comes up to Hayes at Hayes's wedding and warns him that a dangerous criminal has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge upon Kevin Pope, but since Kevin is dead and Hayes was impersonating him, the criminal thinks Hayes is Kevin. Hayes begins to panic and demand that Oakes has to protect him, but Oakes starts laughing as he reveals that it was just a joke and he really just came for the wedding.
.
The film was also generally poorly received by film critics. On film review compilation site Rotten Tomatoes
, the film is given a 10% "rotten" rating, based on 133 reviews; the site's critical consensus stated [that both] "Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins fail to generate the sparks necessary to save the movie from a generic and utterly predictable script." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
reviewer William Arnold calls the film "wildly overproduced, inadequately motivated every step of the way and demographically targeted to please every one (and no one)." Roger Ebert
remarks in the Chicago Sun-Times
that the film "jams too many prefabricated story elements into the running time."
However, David Hunter of The Hollywood Reporter
noted the film as having "all the familiar Bruckheimer elements, and Schumacher does probably as good a job as anyone at bringing off the Hopkins/Rock collision of acting styles and onscreen personas."
. It peaked at number 98 on the Billboard 200
and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
.
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
directed by Joel Schumacher
Joel Schumacher
Joel T. Schumacher is an American film director, screenwriter and producer.-Early life:Schumacher was born in New York City, the son of Marian and Francis Schumacher. His mother was a Swedish Jew, and his father was a Baptist from Knoxville, Tennessee, who died when Joel was four years old...
, produced by Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerry Bruckheimer
Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...
and starring Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
and Chris Rock
Chris Rock
Christopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
.
Plot
When a mission to retrieve a stolen suitcase bombBomb
A bomb is any of a range of explosive weapons that only rely on the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy...
goes bad, CIA
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
agent Kevin Pope (Rock) is killed. Pope was working undercover as an antiquities dealer under the name Michael Turner. The CIA, who is desperate to complete the mission discovers that Agent Pope had a twin brother, Jake Hayes (also Rock), from whom he was separated at birth; their mother died giving birth and Hayes suffered from an ear infection that prompted the doctors to separate them because they felt that Hayes was unlikely to live for very long. Hayes hustles chess games, scalps tickets and works at small clubs in Jersey City
Jersey City, New Jersey
Jersey City is the seat of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States.Part of the New York metropolitan area, Jersey City lies between the Hudson River and Upper New York Bay across from Lower Manhattan and the Hackensack River and Newark Bay...
to make ends meet. Meanwhile Hayes's girlfriend, Julie (Washington) grows tired of waiting for him to grow up and decides to move to Seattle, Washington.
After the CIA successfully persuades Hayes into participating and begins to train Hayes for a mission that is to take place in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
(Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), they are initially dismayed by his lack of refinement. Agent Oakes (Hopkins) confronts Hayes telling him he doesn't trust him. When Hayes begins paying attention, the CIA sets him up in his brother's old apartment in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to test him and try to bait the men who killed his brother. Hayes is attacked, but escapes unharmed. Looking for a way out, Hayes goes to his foster mother only to be found by Oakes who persuades him to finish the mission.
After arriving in Prague, Hayes meets with the men selling the suitcase bomb posing as his dead brother. The seller, Adrik Vas, is an ex-Russian Army Colonel with ties to the Russian Mafia
Russian Mafia
The Russian Mafia is a name applied to organized crime syndicates in Russia and Ukraine. The mafia in various countries take the name of the country, as for example the Ukrainian mafia....
. When they return to their hotel, Hayes is greeted by his brother's ex-girlfriend Nicole. Believing that Hayes is his brother the two have dinner and return to the hotel only to be ambushed by rival buyers. Nicole figures out Hayes isn't his brother and returns to her assignment covering the Balkans for CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
.
Moving forward with the plans, Hayes and Oakes meet up with Adjanic and are able to steal the arming codes. Just as they close the deal, Vas' men double cross him with the rival buyer. When the rival dealers, who are part of a Greek terrorist organization, learn they can't detonate the bomb because of the missing codes, they kidnap Julie. Hayes gives himself up trying to save his girlfriend and the terrorists get the codes back and arm the bomb.
Now the race begins to find Hayes and the bomb. After interrogating one of the captured terrorists, they track the bomb to Grand Central Station. With the clock ticking, they locate the bomb and Andre who has started the countdown. Oakes rescues Hayes by killing two terrorists. As Hayes starts to enter the codes to disarm the bomb, Andre holds Julie hostage. In order to distract Andre, Hayes pretends to shoot Oakes and they kill Andre by shooting him repeatedly. Hayes is able to disarm the bomb just prior to detonation.
At the ending of the film, Hayes visits the memorial for deceased secret agents to visit his brother's grave. Later on, Oakes comes up to Hayes at Hayes's wedding and warns him that a dangerous criminal has escaped from prison and is seeking revenge upon Kevin Pope, but since Kevin is dead and Hayes was impersonating him, the criminal thinks Hayes is Kevin. Hayes begins to panic and demand that Oakes has to protect him, but Oakes starts laughing as he reveals that it was just a joke and he really just came for the wedding.
Cast
- Anthony HopkinsAnthony HopkinsSir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as Officer Oakes - Chris RockChris RockChristopher Julius "Chris" Rock III is an American comedian, actor, screenwriter, television producer, film producer and director. He was voted in the US as the 5th greatest stand-up comedian of all time by Comedy Central...
as Jake Hayes/Kevin Pope/Michael Turner - Peter StormarePeter Stormareis a Swedish film, stage, voice and television actor as well as a theatrical director, playwright and musician.- Early life :...
as Adrik Vas - Gabriel MachtGabriel MachtGabriel S. Macht is an American actor. Macht is known for playing The Spirit in the film of the same name, and lately for his role as Harvey Specter on the USA Network series Suits.-Personal life:...
as Officer Seale - Kerry WashingtonKerry WashingtonKerry Washington is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ray Charles's wife, Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray , as Idi Amin's wife Kay in The Last King of Scotland, and as Alicia Masters, love interest of Ben Grimm, The Thing, in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007...
as Julie - Adoni MaropisAdoni MaropisAdoni Maropis is an American actor.Maropis was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the middle of three sons. He is best known for playing Quan Chi in Mortal Kombat: Conquest. He also played General Hassan in Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun as well as Sakr in Hidalgo...
as Jarma/Dragan Henchman #1 - Garcelle BeauvaisGarcelle BeauvaisGarcelle Beauvais is a Haitian-American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her roles as hotel employee Francesca "Fancy" Monroe on The WB television sitcom, The Jamie Foxx Show which ran from 1996 to 2001, and as Valerie Heywood on the ABC crime drama, NYPD Blue.-Early...
as Nicole - Matthew MarshMatthew Marsh (actor)Matthew Marsh is an English actor. Matthew Marsh is the older brother of Jon Marsh of English dance band The Beloved. He has appeared in the films Alambrado, Spy Game, An American Haunting, Hawking and Bad Company, and guest-starred in the sixth series of the spy drama Spooks in 2007 and the...
as Dragan Adjanic - Dragan MićanovićDragan MićanovićDragan Mićanović is a Serbian actor. International audiences probably best know him for his roles in the films Layer Cake , The White Countess and RocknRolla . Mićanović played his first role abroad in Hamlet at the Globe Theatre.-Personal life:Mićanović was married to Serbian actress Ana...
as Michelle 'The Hammer' Petrov - John SlatteryJohn SlatteryJohn M. Slattery, Jr. is an American actor and director, best known for his role as Roger Sterling on AMC's series Mad Men. He has been nominated for many awards, and has won two SAG Awards with the Mad Men ensemble....
as Roland Yates - Brooke SmithBrooke Smith (actress)Brooke Smith is an American actress. She is best known for her role on the TV show Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Erica Hahn and for her role as Catherine Martin in the 1991 film The Silence of the Lambs.- Early life :...
as Officer Swanson - Daniel SunjataDaniel SunjataDaniel Sunjata is an American actor who performs in film, television and in the theater.-Career:...
as Officer Carew - DeVone Lawson Jr. as Officer Parish
- Wills Robbins as Officer McCain
- Marek VašutMarek VašutMarek Vašut is a Czech film, stage, and television actor, best known for his appearances in Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw and Thief Takers.-Biography:...
as Andre
Reception
In the theaters, Bad Company did poorly at the box office earning only $30,160,161 in the United States and $35,817,134 outside the US for a worldwide total of $65,977,295. The film was originally slated to be released in December 2001 but because of the attacks of September 11, 2001, the film's release was postponed given the fact the film was about a terrorist attack on New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
The film was also generally poorly received by film critics. On film review compilation site Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
, the film is given a 10% "rotten" rating, based on 133 reviews; the site's critical consensus stated [that both] "Chris Rock and Anthony Hopkins fail to generate the sparks necessary to save the movie from a generic and utterly predictable script." Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is an online newspaper and former print newspaper covering Seattle, Washington, United States, and the surrounding metropolitan area...
reviewer William Arnold calls the film "wildly overproduced, inadequately motivated every step of the way and demographically targeted to please every one (and no one)." Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
remarks in the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
that the film "jams too many prefabricated story elements into the running time."
However, David Hunter of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
noted the film as having "all the familiar Bruckheimer elements, and Schumacher does probably as good a job as anyone at bringing off the Hopkins/Rock collision of acting styles and onscreen personas."
Soundtrack
A soundtrack containing hip hop, alternative and R&B music was released on June 4, 2002 by Hollywood RecordsHollywood Records
Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote...
. It peaked at number 98 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
and number 11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
.