jcbutthead86 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.

Matt Bouchard It's pretty dark and definitely of the "gritty and important" genre, but I enjoyed it. Well, I should say I was satisfied. Basic plot rundown: 1) kid going down the wrong path, has a girlfriend, friend and rival. 2) Heist goes wrong, friend dies, hero accidentally kills little brother of rival. 3) Hero goes to prison. Interesting characters there. Finds a new friend and some new enemies. 4) Deals with enemies (though not completely), friend is kind of awesome. 5) Out of prison rival sexually assaults and nearly kills girlfriend then ends up in same juvey facility as hero 6) Tension mounts! 7) Climactic battle! In a moment I didn't really know which way they would go, Hero decides not to kill Rival. End. No wrap up with girlfriend (in fact, he burns his picture of her before the final battle). No leaving prison to reform. Very interesting.It was a little flabby in the middle (though I imagine that's an era thing), and the writing felt a little...forced to me. The kids sounded like they were TRYING to be cool, rather than being cool. But again, that might have been purposeful or even just a problem of it being an older moving (I'm seeing it for the first time in 2014). The performances were just excellent, and it's nice to see where Sean Penn probably came from. I quite enjoyed it though I said it was dark and long enough that you weren't looking for happiness in the end, just resolution and some satisfaction. Both delivered.

charlessmith702210 Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) usually wants things his way. He is right in the heart of Chicago's slums where street gangs will slug it out with drugs as well as guns, but the only problem is his sweetheart played by Ally Sheedy. So, in the first gang retaliation scene, Mick O'Brien gets several enforcers of Paco's street gang in a ambush and drive-by shooting, killing off several of Paco Moreno's gang buddies, but then, Mick realizes that the police are coming. He realizes that during his escape from his pursuit by police cars, he evades a quasi-police roadblock but then his car then hones in into Paco's child brother and slams him hard and the boy immediately dies from what is technically a vehicular homicide..as he crashes and his car bursts into flames..but he survives.So he ends up in custody, ends up in court--Mick--on multiple counts of 1st degree murder by association, eluding police and reckless vehicular homicide--but the judge tells him that he is spared because he is a juvenile. If he was not, he would have been sent to prison for the rest of his natural life, but the judge remands him to the Rainford Juvenile Detention Center.As soon as he gets into this detention center, he meets Gene Daniels, a sort of semi-warden at Rainford. Later on, as Mick O'Brien is introduced to something like a juvenile version of Alcatraz...although mainly a minimum-security facility, he eventually meets up with several other inmates who are ready to explode to fights or rioting like Mick. As Mick approaches his cell block..and his individual cell...he is greeted by a taunting line just like it happens at the first day of military boot camp. He then befriends quickly Horowitz, one of his cellmates, an avid anarchist-like scientist who informs O'Brien that Horowitz knows several members of Paco's street gang. The whole prison scene, is not terribly Alcatraz-like, but more of something a bit out of the Joilet Correctional Center scenes in "The Blues Brothers", with a security fence surrounding the detention grounds. Ramon Herrera then tells Mick about his gargantuan rap sheet he had-- long enough to even dwarf even some of the famous rap sheets by mobsters. He says to Mick that the killing of Paco's child was likely intentional and worthy of possible retaliation by cellmates who have ties to Paco's gang. Paco's surviving gang members then plan their revenge for the death of the Paco's kid, targeting Mick's girlfriend. Before this happens, Paco's gang members who are in the facility--this Mick doesn't know, set off several taunt actions against Mick. Then, Ally, on the way home to the store in the Chicago's streets at night under the "El", are ambushed by Paco and his surviving gang sidekick. And Paco, then gets his revenge, trapping Ally under the "El" tracks and raping her in the height of an oncoming CTA train thundering over them. Fortunately, we do not see most of the actual rape. Afterwards, Paco was about to kill that lady by orders of the other attacker but he refuses. Then an approaching Chicago police car stops their actions--a police officer shoots his attacking friend dead, and Paco has no escape, arrested, and finally, sent to Rainford as Ally Sheedy recognizes the character Paco in a police lineup.A cellmate then informs Mick about the sexual assault of his sweetie, and then Mick plans a bold escape from Rainford, and then, with a help of a truck going outside of the facility, was able to go back to the girlfriend's apartment. Mick and his sweetheart finally embrace each other and Mick strongly consoles her for that horrible incident she faced.Ramon Herrera then comes in and tells Mick that his escape is over, and is whisked back to a van to sent him back to Rainford. The warden then came close to giving him an extension-of-time penalty for the escape but he forgives and lets Mick serve the rest of his sentence.But now, Ramon Herrera then quickly tells Mick to go to his room in private because Ramon is fearing major revenge by the guy who raped Mick's girlfriend...Paco Moreno, who would be transferred immediately to Rainford. This sets up the big fight by Mick and Paco. Paco during lights out makes a ruse that allures Ramon, knocks out Ramon, sends him back to the room, and locks him up. At the same time, Mick burns the only picture he has of his sweetie so he can focus on Paco. Then, Paco goes into Mick's cell but Paco is waiting for him and hits him from behind, starting this final fight. The cellmates then come out and see this no-holds barred fight ensue. As the fight explodes to its climax, it is almost like the "Rumble" in West Side Story, but this rumble is in prison. Like the "rumble", two hard-headed guys, one with a knife. In the end, Mick wins the fight but spares Paco's life before he could drive the knife right into his chest. He drags Paco's injured body right in front of Ramon, goes back to his cell and that's it. The cellmates are then ordered back to their cells because the fight is over, and orders "lights out", and that was it. Mick got his revenge against Paco, but Mick was not too bold to kill Paco off...

Gunnar_Runar_Ingibjargarson Prior to starring in the hard-edged 1983 drama Bad Boys, Sean Penn had proved his early promise in the TV movie The Killing of Randy Webster, played a memorable supporting role in Taps (with fellow newcomer Tom Cruise), and created the definitive California surfer dude as the perpetually stoned Jeff Spicoli in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. But it was Bad Boys 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. 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 jive 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 Bad Boys 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 helmet Halloween II) 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), Bad Boys 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.