Analysis of an Opening Sequence: Bad Boys (1995)

I have chosen to analyse the opening sequence of Bad Boys, because like the film I am making, one on the main genres that are evident is Crime.

Another reason why I have chosen to analyse Bad Boys is because relationships are also a key theme in the film, the two main characters are partners and best friends, they argue and fight like cat and dog, yet they stick up for each other like brothers. In my film how ever the two main characters hate each other they want nothing more than to annihilate the other, though their relationship is very different to the one portrayed in Bad Boys it is just as important. The blood lust and hate is a feeling shared by both men, it is what makes them very alike.

A typical convention of the Crime genre is police officers or any form of law enforcer, whether that be C.I.A, F.B.I, MI5 or even a lawyer, and some sort of criminal, whether they be petty drug dealers or armed robber or the head of a drug cartel or arms dealer. In the opening sequence of Bad Boys it is not made clear that the two characters are police officers. That is until they are being held at gunpoint and Will Smith says “right now you’re jacking a couple of cops”. The way they carry themselves is also a obvious way of figuring out they are police officers, like all police officers that are portrayed in American films they are cocky and over the top. How ever their African American ethnicity and the car they are driving makes them come across as possible criminals. Also their ‘Ghetto’ way of talking which consists of profanities and insults also makes them appears to be the ‘bad guys’. They like the police officer in my film challenge the stereotype of a law enforcer being a well educated white man.

The opening sequence of Bad Boys sets up audience expectations of it being a big budget film. This is because of the two main characters being played by Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, Smith had already been in three films and the popular TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Lawrence who had been in six films. They were both already well paid actors, who were also household names known worldwide. The props used in the film also show that it is a high budget film, for example the black Porsche 964 (911) turbo 3.6, valued at $60179. This car shows that the producers had a lot of money to spend on the film so the SFX would be mind blowing and extremely realistic. The two protagonists are presented within the first forty eight seconds of the opening sequence of the film. Straight away we are informed that one is married and not very happy with the relationship. The other is proud and likes to show off his wealth with a $60,000 car.  How ever their differences aside, their banter and the way they treat each other shows that they are very good friends as well as partners, brothers in arms in a way.

The opening sequence doesn’t really set up any big enigmas. It sets up smaller ones, like what will happen to the men who tried to steal the car and whether the arguments between the protagonists will persist. The only initial equilibrium that can be disrupted is their relationship. The bond they share is the only thing that will bring them down. The key theme shown in the opening sequence is relationship between the protagonists. Their friendship and willingness to do anything for each other shows their love for each other and that they are as close as brothers. The palm trees lining the roads and the accents of the four characters in the opening sequence shows that the film is set in America, where in America though is unknown at this point in the film, though the palm trees lining the streets hint at the location being some where like Miami.

Shafaah Jaber