Bad Company (PG-13, 2002)

In BAD COMPANY, Chris Rock plays Jake Hayes, a streetwise hustler who finds out that not only did he have an identical twin brother who was adopted while he was shuttled to foster homes, but that his brother was a brilliant, sophisticated spy, and that he was killed just as a crucial future-of-the-world-depends-in-it deal was about to be concluded. His brother's partner, Gaylord Oakes (Anthony Hopkins), a spy so cool that he chews gum while he shoots people, recruits Hayes to take his brother's place. Oakes has nine days to train Hayes and is instructed by his supervisor not to tell him that he may be killed.

This generic summer popcorn movie would be instantly forgettable if not for the sour aftertaste left by its climax, with a nuclear bomb set to explode in New York City's Grand Central Station. We are just not ready for a scene like that, and it would not be so bad if we never were again.

Rock is not an actor. He can barely get through the part of Hayes, which is written around his strengths, and his brief attempt to play the spy brother is painful to watch. Every so often, the script lets him go into one of his stand-up rants and his charm and wit come alive. Hopkins, of course, is a magnificent actor, and he does his best to create a real character out of the cardboard script.

Studio: Touchstone Pictures
Director: Joel Schumacher
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock, Kerry Washington
Genre: Action/Adventure
Run time: 117 minutes
Theatrical release: June 7, 2002
DVD release: November 12, 2002
MPAA Rating: PG-13
MPAA explanation: intense sequences of violent action, some sensuality and language.