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Bad Boys

Bad Boys (1983)

March. 25,1983
|
7.2
|
R
| Drama Thriller Crime

Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance.

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dworldeater
1983/03/25

Bad Boys is a very gritty and tough action/drama starring Sean Penn as a young criminal who ends up in reform school. Sean is very good here and totally believable as juvenile delinquent and bad kid from the wrong side of the tracks. The film is taken from his point of view and humanizes the kids that society locks up and tries to forget about. The support cast is strong with Ally Sheedy as O'Brian's girl, Reni Santoni as juvenile detention officer, Alan Ruck of Ferris Bueller fame as Mick's buddy, Esai Morales as his nemesis and Clancy Brown with an awesome early performance as heavy Viking. Bad Boys plays as a very authentic juvenile jailhouse rock film. There is real good performances and depth to the material. Bad Boys is a very tough and violent movie that gives a pretty accurate portrayal of what these wayward boys must endure. In this setting, only the strong survive. Sean Penn is very convincing and is a very different character than he previously portrayed as Spiccoli in Fast Times In Ridgemont High. He showed early on that he is very talented and he has a lot of range. Bad Boys is classic and one of my favorite films that Sean Penn has done.

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jcbutthead86
1983/03/26

Bad Boys is an excellent,powerful and underrated Teen Crime Drama that combines terrific direction,amazing performances from Sean Penn and a wonderful cast,a fantastic score and a great script. All of those elements make Bad Boys a unforgettable film that cannot be missed.Set in Chicago,Illinois,Bad Boys tells the story of Mick O'Brian(Sean Penn),a teenage hoodlum who robs,steals and keeps getting into trouble. While doing an attempted robbery and driving a car Mick gets into a car accident killing a young boy. Because he is a minor,Mick is sent to the Rainford Juvenile Correctional Facility a reform school that has young and vicious criminals serving time. Now,Mick has to learn to survive at his new home at all costs.Released in 1983,Bad Boys is a brilliant and unforgettable film that was one of Sean Penn's early movie roles and is a movie that is truly underrated and very overlooked that while earning some pretty good reviews from critics was ignored by moviegoers at the time but over the years has found cult status over the years since it's release and it's well deserved. Right from the somber and emotional opening credits Bad Boys is an amazing movie from the moment you watch it mixing together genres such as the Teen film and Prison movie making Bad Boys one of the best examples of the Teen Crime Drama,a sub genre of Teen Movies that gives viewers a darker look at Teenage life because in this film the kids aren't thinking about going to a dance or going on dates but trying to survive on the mean streets of Chicago. During the early 1980s where Teens were trying survive in Slasher Movies and or trying to get laid in Sex Comedies,Bad Boys brought viewers back to the classic trouble youth movies of the 1950s such as Rebel Without A Cause and The Blackboard Jungle(both from 1955)and brought to the 1980s in a truly fantastic way that is brutal,harsh and bleak and done with a style that just punches you in the face from the opening scene. One of the things I love about Bad Boys is that inside and outside the detention center the teenage criminals exist in a world onto themselves where things such as violence,death and crime seems to be the only way out for them where it's all about survival and following the laws of the streets with no escape or hope. Bad Boys is a movie that is not easy to watch and that is one of the things I enjoy about it is that it doesn't hold back on it's grim and downbeat nature nor does it sugarcoat anything for the viewers. The Juvenile Prison scenes feel authentic and real almost like you are in there with the characters living a nightmare and you just want to get out of there. Inside the prison you will see that there is tension in the air all the time and anything can happen. The violence in Bad Boys is shocking and intense but is also fits with the dangerous world that the movie shows and the violence isn't pretty(lookout for the now famous pillow case scene). The screenplay by Richard Di Lello is just amazing and well written,with Di Lello's dialog being gritty and raw and giving the characters toughness. The main character Mick O'Brian isn't a likable person by any stretch of the imagination in fact when you see some of his actions you will think he gets what he deserves but at the same time O'Brien has some dimension and depth in certain scenes and in comparison to the other prisoners he's kind of likable even if you don't like him. Bad Boys has often been accused of being predictable at times by some critics and while there are some familiar elements that have been seen before in other films of this type that doesn't destroy the movie's impact. Some critics have also said that the movie is preachy but I think it works for this film in sending a message that is hard edged and memorable. The ending of Bad Boys is powerful and effective giving viewers a conclusion that answers questions while at the same time makes viewers asks questions with no easy answers. A great ending.The cast is great. Sean Penn is excellent and powerful as Mick O'Brien,with Penn bringing an intensity and emotional depth to the role. Rick Santoni is terrific as Herrera,a warden that cares about the kids. Esai Morales is wonderful as Paco,a rival of O'Brien's. Eric Gurry is fantastic as Horowitz,a friend and cell mate of O'Brien's. Ally Sheedy is great as J.C,Mick's girlfriend. Clancy Brown is amazing as Viking,a prison bully. Robert Lee Rush does a fine job as Tweety,Viking's partner and cell mate. Jim Moody(Mr. Daniels),John Zenda(Wagner),Tony Mockus(Warden Bendix),Dean Fortunato(Perretti),Lawerence Mah(Lee)and Eugene J. Anthony(Robert Walenski,J.C.'s Father)give good performances as well.The direction by Rick Rosenthal is sensational,with Rosenthal bringing a dark and atmospheric look to the movie and keeping the camera moving with tracking shots and a tight pace. Great direction,Rosenthal.The score by Bill Conti is haunting,intense and tragic matching the tone of the movie perfectly. Powerful score,Conti.In final word,if you love Sean Penn Teen Films or Prison Movies,I highly suggest you see Bad Boys,an excellent and powerful Teen Crime Drama that will stay with you after you watch it. Highly Recommended. 10/10.

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Christopher James Anderson Jr. (casedistorted)
1983/03/27

The reason being my father was in this movie right when he was out of high school, still living in Chicago. Right around 9 minutes in during the scene where all the "students" are standing outside the "high school", he was standing there with his group of friends at the time almost dead center of the camera in the dark blue and white checkered shirt. It's fascinating to me because I never knew my dad during this time since this movie was filmed 3 years before I was born. He had hair and was incredibly thin, which of course 30 years later much has changed. I believe he told me the school or building (can't even remember if that building WAS a school because I don't think the interior that was filmed was the same building) was in a very dangerous neighborhood and they were told not to be there after dark. So they could only be around during the day while filming and he got lucky and became an extra. This was the entire reason I knew of this film nearly 20 years after it's creation and watched it and loved it. It's an awesome film even though you can clearly tell it was from the 80's (Similar to watching something like The Warriors) it sends a message that is timeless and still relevant to this day. It's incredibly powerful and still one of my favorite movies and since Sean Penn is an incredible actor, it's great to see him at such a young age before his career had really taken off. Definitely give this movie a watch, it starts out kind of slow in my opinion but once it gets to the meat of the film where the rest of it takes place, it's a wild ride.

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TOMASBBloodhound
1983/03/28

Bad Boys certainly has a lot going for it on many levels, but there are enough implausible moments in the script that keep it from any type of "classic" status. The story centers around Sean Penn playing an angry and violent young hood from the streets of Chicago getting sent to a tough juvenile detention center after accidentally killing a young boy during a botched robbery attempt. The balance of the story deals with Penn adjusting to his new confinement and having to prove how tough he is again and again. Once he has established himself as the toughest kid in the place, the plot is turned on its side. The older brother of the boy he killed (Morales) is also sent to the facility... for raping and almost killing Penn's girlfriend as revenge for the boy's death! From the moment he arrives, everyone knows that the score will have to be settled once and for all. Who will survive??Yes, its a pretty good premise, but too many detours are taken before the anticipated climax finally arrives. And many of them just don't make sense. First of all, there is no doubt that Penn's character is one tough punk. Yet he is just not physically imposing enough to be the "barn boss" as the toughest inmate is called. Yes, he whips the two punks who once held the title in a crafty manner, but there would no doubt have been many others waiting in line for that title. Another problem deals with Penn's escape attempt. After learning of his girlfriend's rape, he actually breaks out of the facility and somehow is able to make it all the way back to Chicago from the location several miles out in the country. Even if he were actually able to do this (which wouldn't be likely), notice how once he's captured and returned to the lockup, they don't even punish him!! Uh huh! I'm guessing the escape and brief rendezvous with the badly bruised girlfriend were meant to establish some sort of motivation for Penn wanting to kill Morales. But honestly, would this type of character need such motivation? Not likely. In addition, Penn is momentarily taken to the state prison for adults and warned that this is the path he is headed down if he screws up again. And apparently this is why he initially refuses to fight Morales when he first arrives at the facility. Penn just wants to do his remaining time and split. Again, not likely. A guy like this would not hesitate to accept a challenge from any man who violated his woman. Another problem deals with how Morales and Penn are left in the same cell block right up to the moment Morales is about to be transferred to another facility. Wouldn't it have been a better idea to keep the two sequestered from one another, even if it meant putting one of them in the hole for a while??? But then we couldn't have had our final fight then, could we? Oh, well.There are a lot of good aspects of this film, too. The acting is outstanding, the casting is picture perfect, and the locations look authentic. The film is full of surprises, and a lot of them work. The Jewish whiz-kid who shares a cell with Penn steals every scene he's in. Look for a young Clancy Brown as the yard boss de-throned by Penn. Ally Sheedy gives a good performance, but she doesn't look like she belongs in that neighborhood! And I like the fact that the film doesn't try to make Penn or any of the others out to be misunderstood kids. They are all rotten to the core and deserve their punishment! Despite some flaws with the script, Bad Boys is still worth at least 7 of 10 stars.The Hound.

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