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MOVIE REVIEW

Blue Streak

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for action violence, continuous language and some crude humor.

Reviewed by: Hillari Hunter
CONTRIBUTOR

Moral Rating: Very Offensive
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Older Teen to Adult
Genre: Action Comedy
Length: 1 hr. 33 min.
Year of Release: 1999
USA Release:
Relevant Issues
Blue Streak

Sin and the Bible

Are you good enough to get to Heaven? Answer

How good is good enough? Answer

Featuring Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, William Forsythe, Peter Greene
Director Les Mayfield
Producer Toby Jaffe, Neal H. Moritz
Distributor
Distributor: Columbia Pictures. Trademark logo.
Columbia Pictures
, a division of Sony Pictures

Martin Lawrence is a funny guy. I admit I usually like his acting. Unfortunately, his talent is wasted in “Blue Streak”.

This is another in a long string of action-comedy-buddy-movies with a stereotypical hip African-American male and a clueless white guy. Throw in the usual mishaps that happen in a story about someone impersonating someone else (Lawrence is a thief pretending to be a cop), connect the dots, and you can predict where this one is going. There are very few surprises to keep the audience interested.

Scene from Blue Streak

The idea behind “Blue Streak” was promising, holding possibility, but the screenplay missed most of them. I found myself waiting for laughs that never came.

While Lawrence has been good in other films (“Boomerang”, “A Thin Line Between Love and Hate”), he appears to just be rehashing his persona from his television sitcom from a couple of years ago. Luke Wilson plays his slow-on-the-uptake sidekick, who miraculously figures things out later. Dave Chappelle, who’s one of Lawrence’s partners-in-crime, mugs for the camera too many times.

Humor ranges from slapstick to vulgar. Lawrence is known for his use of profanity, and he uses plenty of it here (to be expected). However, for the genre of film, the violence-factor was lower than expected. However, there are numerous assaults on characters that are played for laughs. Messages are given that it’s cool to be on the wrong side of the law. It’s also shown that is it okay to deceive people to get what you want, which flies in the face of Christian values that emphasize truthfulness. There is no sex at all in this movie.

I recommend this film only to those who are die hard Martin Lawrence fans. But even they might be disappointed in this by-the-numbers story.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
I totally disagree with the reviewer of this film. As far as comedies go I thought that this film’s plot was actually quite entertaining and very FUNNY. I was thrilled to finally find a comedy that was [not] dependent on sex and drugs to get laughs. The actions scenes were great and the direction was also good. I’ll admit that there was some bad lauguage and also some lame humor, but overall I found this movie quite entertaining. My Ratings: [3/4]
David Betts, age 19
“Blue Streak” was a funny, wholesome movie for audiences from 14 and above in age. It was a funny movie. It was mild in swear words but no sex. Overall, I would say it was a pretty good movie. My Ratings: [3/3½]
Dan, age 28
Even though Blue Streak had some swearing in it I really enjoyed it. There is no sexual [material in] it and it is very funny. I did not get tired of the plot at all. If you are not offended by swearing I recommend it. My Ratings: [3/3]
Jonathan, age 16
Movie Critics
BLUE STREAK could refer to the amount of foul language as 44 s-words, 34 moderate crudities and 10 regular profanities fill the air. With an abundance of gutter vocabulary… earns a more than moderately objectionable rating.
Preview Family Movie and TV Review
…you’ll probably tire of the film’s loose and unbelievable approaching at telling its story. While it does offer a few funny moments, for the most part it’s otherwise instantly forgettable. …some slang terms for male genitals…
ScreenIt
…heavy profanity …abundant violence…
Family Style Movie Guide