Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (2024)

90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings

Teen delinquent Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is sent to juvenile hall after unintentionally killing the younger sibling of a rival gang leader, Paco Moreno (Esai Morales), in a drug-deal con gone wrong. Prison life proves even more brutal than the streets when Mick is forced to face off against reigning prison toughs Viking (Clancy Brown) and Tweety (Robert Lee Rush). Worse yet, on the outside, Paco is threatening to take revenge on those close to Mick -- including his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy).

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Bad Boys

Critics Reviews

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Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (1) Variety Staff Variety Director Rick Rosenthal does a topnotch job of bringing to life the seedy, hopeless environment of a jail for juvenile offenders and has gotten some terribly convincing performances from his young cast, notably topliner Sean Penn. Mar 26, 2009 Full Review Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (2) Derek Owen Time Out An oxygenated, thoughtful alternative to the usual run of gangs-in-the-slammer movies. Jan 26, 2006 Full Review Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (3) Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times "Bad Boys" misses its chance at greatness, but it's saying something that this movie had a chance. I have a notion it will stand as one of those bench-mark movies that we'll look back at for the talent it introduced. Rated: 3/4 Oct 23, 2004 Full Review Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (4) David Nusair Reel Film Reviews ...a solid drama that is, for the most part, more involving than other similarly-themed efforts. Rated: 3/4 Nov 21, 2021 Full Review Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (5) TV Guide A searing and gut-wrenching film, Bad Boys is to the 1980s what The Blackboard Jungle was to the 1950s. Rated: 3/5 Mar 11, 2015 Full Review Bad Boys | Rotten Tomatoes (6) Felix Vasquez Jr. Cinema Crazed An underrated but excellent near masterpiece... Dec 5, 2012 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Director Rick Rosenthal covers the life of a young man in very deep A very young Sean Penn as Mick is part of a group of bad boys on the streets Car thefts, money, beatings are what he and his boys do best He has a girlfriend J.C. who doesn't want anything to happen to him But he lands in jail after killing a member of a warring drug gang lead by Paco He's in with other criminals; he can either follow the rules and do his time to walk free or face growing old behind bars forever Paco in the meantime decides to take revenge going after the ones Mick cares about This movie is far too long and is an unpleasant watch But you get some very convincing performances from everyone in a very grimy and hopeless environment behind these jail cells of young offenders who just want an easier lifestyle Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/25/24 Full Review Erock Very gritty look at teen delinquents in the inner city of Chicago. Great acting and story line. Definite must see Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 12/08/23 Full Review Tic Toc M Saw it on cable when I was a kid, soon after it came out. It was ok, it was never a "great" movie. For a much better 1983 "bad boy" movie: Coppola's "Rumble Fish" (with a stacked cast). Or if you're looking for something else from 1983 that was aimed at the young: "Risky Business" has held up surprisingly well, one of the few of those teen sex comedies that have. Both of those 1983 films are acted well, written well, great scores, great direction (especially the Coppola film). They're both cinematic, and one-of-a-kind. "Bad Boys" is just not in that category. I just threw "Bad Boys" on now after having not seen it since probably 1985, tops. At first, I thought it might have held up ok - albeit with caveats! But once they got to the high school and Ally Sheedy and the horrible Bill Conti music, I realized this was past its sell-date! The kid from "Author Author" is in it, I had forgotten about that. He was a good actor. The acting is great, everyone is giving 100%, and I can see the filmmakers were trying. But this is only to be watched if you're doing some kind of analysis of "the Brat Pack" or early 80s teen movies, or Sean Penn's early career (of which this was definitely one of his major early roles, along with "Taps", "Falcon & The Snowman", etc). Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 04/23/23 Full Review Audience Member Director Rick Rosenthal covers the life of a young man in very deep A very young Sean Penn as Mick is part of a group of bad boys on the streets Car thefts, money, beatings are what he and his boys do best He has a girlfriend J.C. who doesn't want anything to happen to him But he lands in jail after killing a member of a warring drug gang lead by Paco He's in with other criminals; he can either follow the rules and do his time to walk free or face growing old behind bars forever Paco in the meantime decides to take revenge going after the ones Mick cares about This movie is far too long and is an unpleasant watch But you get some very convincing performances from everyone in a very grimy and hopeless environment behind these jail cells of young offenders who just want an easier lifestyle Rated 2/5 Stars • Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/25/23 Full Review Jelisije J A young teen must choose between to continue in a life of violence or to become a better person. Rated 4/5 Stars • Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Christopher B The original Bad Boys from 1983, not to be confused with the similarly named film starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is the story of inner-city violence and street gangs and the devastation that comes with them. The story focuses on a couple different kids both of whom are rebellious in nature and have no regard for authority or life. Sean Penn stars as Mick O'Brien and Esai Morales as the drug dealer Paco Moreno who is intimately tied to Mick in a devastating consequence of their lives and company they keep. During a drug deal gone wrong, several of the boys surrounding the two are killed or wounded and Paco's kid brother is accidentally run over by Mick as he tries to get away in a car. Mick is put in a juvenile lock-up where he goes from being the new guy who is harassed and mocked daily to the leader of the facility. Shortly after Mick climbs up the ranks at the facility, angering several others he climbs over one way or another, it's Paco who is the new guy at the juvenile facility. While free he stalks and eventually rapes Mick's girlfriend out of revenge against Mick, but is caught in the act by the police and locked up as well. With Paco locked up with Mick and his vengeance brimming he befriends others who Mick has stood up to in the past and the inevitable fight between the two reaches a climatic end. Bad Boys is a good film, it's message and characters tell a poignant story that resonates to this day but ultimately it falls short of perfection. The film follows the life and goings of the two teenagers and has a strong opening half but falters when it eventually transforms into a good versus bad battle between the two. The performances are good and Penn shines in his realistic portrayal of the troubled teenage Mick but the rest of the script loses focus and is sold short because of it. Still there is a lot of good here and a tough watch but one that remains a heavy-handed look into the criminal world of gangs and drug dealers as well as those children that are affected and brought into this dark and violent world. Rated 3.5/5 Stars • Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 10/20/22 Full Review Read all reviews

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Cast & Crew

Rick Rosenthal Director Sean Penn Mick O'Brien Reni Santoni Ramon Herrera Esai Morales Paco Moreno Jim Moody Gene Daniels Ally Sheedy J. C. Walenski
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Synopsis Teen delinquent Mick O'Brien (Sean Penn) is sent to juvenile hall after unintentionally killing the younger sibling of a rival gang leader, Paco Moreno (Esai Morales), in a drug-deal con gone wrong. Prison life proves even more brutal than the streets when Mick is forced to face off against reigning prison toughs Viking (Clancy Brown) and Tweety (Robert Lee Rush). Worse yet, on the outside, Paco is threatening to take revenge on those close to Mick -- including his girlfriend (Ally Sheedy).

Director
Rick Rosenthal

Producer
Robert H. Solo

Screenwriter
Richard DiLello

Distributor
Universal Pictures

Production Co
EMI Films Ltd., Solofilm

Rating
R

Genre
Drama

Original Language
English

Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 25, 1983, Original

Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 29, 2016

Runtime
2h 3m

Sound Mix
Dolby

Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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