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Bad Boys

Bad Boys

Crime · Drama · Thriller · 1983

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.

Movie details

Bad Boys

“There's only one person left who believes Mick O'Brien can make it... Mick O'Brien.”

1983 Crime · Drama · Thriller 2h 3m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.0 / 10

Community rating

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.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Bad Boys?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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The Shawshank Redemption

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Rick Rosenthal

Written by

Richard Di Lello

Sean Penn

Sean Penn

Mick O'Brien

Reni Santoni

Reni Santoni

Ramon Herrera

Jim Moody

Jim Moody

Gene Daniels

Eric Gurry

Eric Gurry

Horowitz

Esai Morales

Esai Morales

Paco Moreno

Ally Sheedy

Ally Sheedy

J. C. Walenski

Clancy Brown

Clancy Brown

Viking Lofgren

Court is in session

Put Bad Boys on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Big-Idea Head

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.