Bad Company
Buena Vista Pictures | Release Date: June 7, 2002 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
37
METASCORE
Generally unfavorable reviews based on 33 Critic Reviews
Positive:
3
Mixed:
16
Negative:
14
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Deft, funny and intelligently scary. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
Joel Schumacher directs with far less fetishism than he might have, while producer Jerry Bruckheimer kicks up only a fraction of the bull dust usually visible in his projects. Read full review
63
New York PostLou Lumenick
There is much more suspense in this sequence than a similar scene in last week's "The Sum of All Fears" -- which wasn't intended to be funny. Read full review
60
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
Hopkins and Rock are a surprisingly good mix; Hopkins actually underplays his role as a company man with a barely acknowledged conscience, while Rock's manic impulses aren't allowed to run riot. Read full review
60
Washington PostStephen Hunter
Anthony Hopkins, with a toothpick and a slouch. Fabulous! Read full review
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
It's almost impossible to enjoy this uneven but mostly exciting popcorn pic without flinching at a few plot elements that feel a bit too real for comfort. Read full review
60
Film ThreatMichael Dequina
From the plotting and the characterizations to the explosions and excessive use of blue light filters, everything about Bad Company has been done and seen before. Read full review
50
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Bad Company would just be another silly, intermittently funny, buddy comedy (Anthony Hopkins is Rock's training agent) were it not for a plot unlaughably close to current events. Read full review
50
Chicago ReaderHank Sartin
As in all Jerry Bruckheimer-produced summer blockbusters, the premise is paper-thin and the action sequences play out with assembly-line regularity. Read full review
50
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Company almost seems like the product of a post-Sept. 11 world. Like a cartoon version of a real threat, the villains are terrorists of a non-specific nationality with an ill-defined anti-American agenda and a tendency to spout complaints too clichéd to take seriously. Read full review
50
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I won't tell you I didn't enjoy parts of Bad Company, because I did. But the enjoyment came at moments well-separated by autopilot action scenes and stunt sequences that outlived their interest. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam Lacey
Feels stale, bloated and willing to get by on sheer familiarity. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalle
It's fast, snappy and entertaining in a superficial way. But it lacks gravity and authenticity and seems more like a product than an attempt to tell a story. Read full review
50
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
It's fun to watch for a while. But the movie runs much too long, and a few funny bits aside, most of the comedy writing is lame. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Though they're a good pair (Hopkins and Rock), this isn't a very good movie. It's slick but hollow. Read full review
42
Portland OregonianKim Morgan
Watching Rocks shows, we know he's sharper than the average actor. But watching him flail and play funny in movies that aren't as smart as him is simply depressing. Someone give this man a good role. And please, let him do a few more takes -- these scenes can't be his best efforts. Read full review
40
Los Angeles TimesGene Seymour
Whether you care if they find them (terrorists) or not may depend on how much you've been able to withstand Bad Company's sensory overload of firefights, vehicular mayhem, techno-cool swagger and enough bumptious contrivances to fill several seasons of daffy prime-time soaps. Read full review
40
New York Magazine (Vulture)Peter Rainer
Some of this stuff is uncomfortably close to minstrelsy. Bad Company closes on a patriotic note in a brief scene that pays heartfelt tribute to the terrorist-thwarting sacrifices of the CIA. Timing is everything, I guess. Read full review
40
Rolling StonePeter Travers
The motor of the plot, involving nuclear terrorism, not only knocked Bad Company out of last year's release schedule due to 9/11 sensitivity, it stops Rock and Hopkins from sustaining a comic rapport. The waste is criminal. Read full review
38
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
Schumacher doesn't leave an imprint on the film -- it could be the work of any second-rate director. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
Bad Company is about an undercover brother, but it will never be confused with "Undercover Brother."
38
USA TodayMike Clark
Leaves a bad taste, not only because of its bad-luck timing, but also the staleness of its script. Read full review
30
Washington PostDesson Thomson
A longwinded, predictable scenario. Read full review
30
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Lacks the bite that can equal the Bruckheimer bark. Read full review
25
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
The main problem with this whole Jerry Bruckheimer-produced mess is that they took a promising comedy setup and squandered it by trying to make a legitimate spy thriller out of it.
25
Charlotte ObserverLawrence Toppman
The picture lasts 111 minutes, partly because of numerous false endings. Now, that constitutes cruel and unusual punishment. Read full review
25
Seattle Post-IntelligencerWilliam Arnold
The film was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and directed by Joel Schumacher, and reflects the worst of their shallow styles: wildly overproduced, inadequately motivated every step of the way and demographically targeted to please every one (and no one). Read full review
25
Miami HeraldRene Rodriguez
A Jerry Bruckheimer production, which gives the movie a disquieting sense of stupidity. Read full review
20
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Like many of the nonpolitical terrorist-as-villain spectaculars that have been held back after Sept. 11, has the whiff of something gone stale. Though it may have sat on the shelf for a while, this project had gone bad long before it was released. Read full review
20
New Times (L.A.)Robert Wilonsky
If this it supposed to be comedy, why isn't it ever, for one second, funny?
20
SalonCharles Taylor
This cookie-cutter spy thriller depends on the chemistry between Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock. Um, wait, there isn't any. Read full review
20
Village VoiceMichael Atkinson
Predictably soulless techno-tripe, this Bruckheimer-in-a-can thriller is leavened only by the ludicrous notion of Chris Rock playing separated twins. Read full review
12
Boston GlobeSam Allis
The major problem with this alleged comic thriller is it is neither funny nor thrilling. Neither the heavies nor the good guys are believable. Read full review
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