Blue Streak (film)

Last updated
Blue Streak
Blue Streak film poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Les Mayfield
Written byMichael Berry
John Blumenthal
Stephen Carpenter
Produced by Neal H. Moritz
Toby Jaffe
Starring
Cinematography David Eggby
Edited by Michael Tronick
Music by Edward Shearmur
Production
companies
Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing
Release date
  • September 17, 1999 (1999-09-17)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$36 million [1]
Box office$117.7 million [2]

Blue Streak is a 1999 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Les Mayfield. Inspired by the 1965 film The Big Job , the film stars Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker and William Forsythe. Lawrence plays Miles, a jewel thief who tries to retrieve a diamond he left at a police station, whereupon he disguises himself as a detective and gets paired with a real policeman to investigate burglaries. The film was shot on location in California. The prime shooting spot was Sony Pictures Studios, which is located in Culver City, California.

Contents

Blue Streak was released theatrically by Columbia Pictures on September 17, 1999 and opened as the number one movie in North America. Despite receiving mixed reviews from critics, it went on to gross nearly $120 million at the worldwide box office against a $36 million budget. [2] The film's soundtrack album, featuring a number of popular urban/hip-hop artists, was certified platinum.

Plot

Jewel thief Miles Logan participates in a $17 million diamond heist in LA with his crew: his right hand and best friend Eddie, getaway driver Tulley, and Deacon, a newly acquired member of the group. Deacon turns on them, killing Eddie by shooting him off of a tall building and causing him to fall onto a police car, before attempting to take the stone from Miles. As the police arrive, he hides the diamond in the ducts of a building under construction; as Deacon flees, Miles is arrested.

Released from prison two years later, Miles attempts to reunite with his girlfriend. She breaks it off as he lied about being a criminal, which prompts him to retrieve the diamond. Miles discovers the building where he hid the diamond is now an LAPD police station and goes inside. He realizes the diamond is hidden in the ducts of what is now the Robbery/Homicide detective bureau, which requires a key card to access.

Miles returns disguised as a pizza deliveryman, steals an access card and visits his forger Uncle Lou. The fake badge and transfer papers allow him to pose as newly-transferred police detective Malone. While trying to access the ducts, Miles inadvertently foils a prisoner escape so is teamed up with newly-appointed Detective Carlson.

Miles' planned quick in and out mission to retrieve the diamond ends up becoming a prolonged endeavor as he gets sent out on calls. Miles' knowledge on criminal activity and ability to foil crimes makes him quite popular among his "peers,” even getting promoted to detective in charge of the Robbery/Homicide division.

When Miles and Carlson are first sent on a burglary call, he quickly solves it as fraud perpetrated by the owner. On the ride back, they stumble upon an armed robbery being committed by Tulley. Miles intervenes, arresting him before he's shot, but Tulley demands $50,000 to keep quiet about who Miles really is.

Miles again attempts to locate the diamond, but is interrupted by Carlson, who has discovered he is not who he claims to be. Convincing him that he is from Internal Affairs, Miles tries to get back to searching for the diamond, but they are sent out on another call. While out, they capture a truckload of heroin.

Afterwards, Miles finds the diamond in the evidence locker but accidentally drops it into the load of seized heroin. The FBI demands the heroin for testing. In panic, Miles suggests the FBI and his unit use it as bait in a sting. He arranges to be with the heroin in the delivery truck, but is soon joined by Tulley,whom he had set free from holding, and Deacon; during the drug deal, Deacon exposes Miles as a cop to the drug runners. While Miles and Tulley attempt to distract them, the police and FBI raid the deal. Deacon escapes with the diamond in an armored truck and the police and FBI follow as he approaches the border to Mexico. The US authorities are forced to halt their pursuit at the border, but Miles steals a patrol car and chases Deacon.

Miles forces Deacon to wreck the truck and offers him a deal: give him the diamond and let him arrest him in exchange for Miles cutting him back in on the diamond. He agrees, and Miles immediately double-crosses him by handcuffing him to the wrecked truck for the Federales and begins to walk back to the border. Deacon draws a gun to shoot him, but Miles turns and shoots him dead, avenging Eddie's death.

Miles walks back to the border where both the FBI and police demand explanations; he tells them he is an undercover Mexican officer and has to report back to his fellow Federales. At a few inches from the border, Carlson and Hardcastle stop him, revealing they know who he really is, but do not arrest him as they are grateful for all of his help and see him as a friend. They point out the FBI cannot reach him over international borders, as he is technically still in Mexico. Sharing a bittersweet goodbye, Miles heads off into Mexico with the diamond.

Cast

Reception

Box office

The film opened at #1 with a weekend gross of $19,208,806 from 2,735 theaters for a per venue average of $7,023. [3] It ended its run with $68,518,533 in North America, and $49,239,967 internationally for a total of $117,758,500 worldwide. [2]

Critical reception

Blue Streak had received mostly mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 36% "Rotten" rating based on reviews from 69 critics and an average rating of 4.80/10. The critical consensus reads: "Martin Lawrence lends his comedic touch, but the movie isn't much more than standard action-comedy fare." [4] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 46 out of 100 based on 26 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [5] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale. [6]

Gene Seymour of the Los Angeles Times described the film by saying that "it starts out like a caper flick that shifts, almost by accident, into an episode from the old Martin TV series [until] eventually, it settles for being a bleached, cluttered photostat of Beverly Hills Cop , if only a bit more clever than the original." [7] Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times also compared the film to Beverly Hills Cop, and stated that "in this instance, the buoyancy is only intermittent." [8]

Roger Ebert praised the film, giving it 3 stars out of 4 and writing: "Martin Lawrence is a comic actor with real talent, not always shown to best advantage. Bad Boys (1995), his cop buddy movie with Will Smith, was not a career high point, and it took a certain nerve to make another one. But Blue Streak works." [9]

Cancelled sequel

There were plans for a sequel to Blue Streak, but the sequel did not materialize. [10] [11] [12] [13] Instead, its screenplay was reused for the film 2002 film Bad Company .[ citation needed ]

Remakes

The 2002 Hindi film Chor Machaaye Shor starring Bobby Deol was an unauthorized remake of Blue Streak. The storyline of the 2008 Indian Telugu language film Blade Babji , starring Allari Naresh and Sayali Bhagat was inspired by this film which was then remade in Tamil as Kasethan Kadavulada (2011) and in Kannada as Kiladi Kitty (2012). [14] [15] And the film was remade in Persian as Loneh Zanbor (2017) also.

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Rush Hour</i> (1998 film) 1998 American action comedy film by Brett Ratner

Rush Hour is a 1998 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and written by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna from a story by LaManna. It stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as mismatched police officers who are assigned to rescue a Chinese diplomat's abducted daughter. Tom Wilkinson, Chris Penn and Elizabeth Peña play supporting roles. Released on September 18, 1998, the film grossed over $244 million worldwide. Its box office commercial success led to two sequels: Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007).

<i>Bad Boys</i> (1995 film) 1995 action film directed by Michael Bay

Bad Boys is a 1995 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Michael Bay in his feature directorial debut, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, and starring Martin Lawrence, Will Smith, Téa Leoni, Tchéky Karyo, Theresa Randle, and Joe Pantoliano. The film follows Miami narcotics detectives Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith) who are investigating the $100 million stolen packs of heroin and must order to protect a murder witness from an international drug dealer.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop</i> 1984 film directed by Martin Brest

Beverly Hills Cop is a 1984 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Martin Brest, with a screenplay by Daniel Petrie Jr., and story by Danilo Bach and Daniel Petrie Jr. It stars Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley, a street-smart Detroit detective who visits Beverly Hills, California, to solve the murder of his best friend. Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff, Paul Reiser, and Jonathan Banks appear in supporting roles.

<i>Stakeout</i> (1987 film) 1987 buddy cop action comedy film written by Jim Kouf and directed by John Badham

Stakeout is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by John Badham and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe and Aidan Quinn. The screenplay was written by Jim Kouf, who won a 1988 Edgar Award for his work. Although the story is set in Seattle, the film was shot in Vancouver. A sequel, Another Stakeout, followed in 1993.

<i>Home Alone 3</i> 1997 film by Raja Gosnell

Home Alone 3 is a 1997 American family comedy film directed by Raja Gosnell in his directorial debut, written and co-produced by John Hughes, and starring Alex D. Linz and Haviland Morris. A standalone sequel to Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), it follows Alex Pruitt, an 8-year-old boy who defends his home from a dangerous band of international criminals working for a terrorist organization. It is the third film in the Home Alone franchise, the only one not set during Christmas, and the first not to feature actor Macaulay Culkin, director Chris Columbus, or composer John Williams; Gosnell had previously served as editor on the first two Home Alone films. It is also the final film in the Home Alone franchise to receive a theatrical release.

<i>Beverly Hills Cop II</i> 1987 buddy cop film directed by Tony Scott

Beverly Hills Cop II is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Tony Scott, written by Larry Ferguson and Warren Skaaren, and starring Eddie Murphy. It is the sequel to the 1984 film Beverly Hills Cop and the second installment in the Beverly Hills Cop film series. Murphy returns as Detroit police detective Axel Foley, who reunites with Beverly Hills detectives Billy Rosewood and John Taggart to stop a criminal organization after Captain Andrew Bogomil is shot and seriously wounded.

<i>Kindergarten Cop</i> 1990 action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman

Kindergarten Cop is a 1990 American action comedy film directed by Ivan Reitman and distributed by Universal Pictures. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as John Kimble, a tough police detective working undercover as a kindergarten teacher to locate the wife and child of drug dealer Cullen Crisp, who are living under assumed identities. Pamela Reed, Penelope Ann Miller and Linda Hunt co-star. The original music score was composed by Randy Edelman. A direct-to-video sequel, Kindergarten Cop 2, was released in 2016.

<i>Bulletproof</i> (1996 film) 1996 American film

Bulletproof is a 1996 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Ernest Dickerson and starring Damon Wayans and Adam Sandler.

<i>That Darn Cat!</i> 1965 American thriller comedy film by Robert Stevenson

That Darn Cat! is a 1965 American thriller comedy film directed by Robert Stevenson and starring Hayley Mills and Dean Jones in a story about bank robbers, a kidnapping and a mischievous cat. Produced by Walt Disney Productions, the film was based on the 1963 novel Undercover Cat by Gordon and Mildred Gordon. The title song was written by the Sherman Brothers and sung by Bobby Darin.

<i>French Connection II</i> 1975 film by John Frankenheimer

French Connection II is a 1975 American neo-noir action thriller film starring Gene Hackman and directed by John Frankenheimer. It is a sequel to the 1971 film The French Connection, and continues the story of the central character, Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, who travels to Marseille in order to track down French drug-dealer Alain Charnier, played by Fernando Rey, who escaped at the end of the first film. Hackman and Rey are the only returning cast members.

<i>Cop and a Half</i> 1993 film by Henry Winkler

Cop and a Half is a 1993 American family buddy cop-comedy film directed by Henry Winkler, and stars Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II and Ray Sharkey. Reynolds plays a veteran cop who reluctantly takes an eight-year-old boy (Golden) as his partner to solve a murder investigation.

<i>Blade Babji</i> 2008 Indian film

Blade Babji is a 2008 Indian Telugu-language comedy film directed by Devi Prasad who co-wrote the film with Satish Vegesna. Produced by Muthyala Satya Kumar under Satya Movies, the film stars Allari Naresh and Sayali Bhagat. Venu Madhav, Srinivasa Reddy, Krishna Bhagavan, Dharmavarapu, Kondavalasa, Jaya Prakash Reddy, Brahmanandam, and Khayyum play supporting roles. The music is composed by Koti. The film is inspired by the American film Blue Streak (1999).

<i>Kiladi Kitty</i> 2012 Indian film

Kiladi Kitty is a 2012 Kannada comedy film directed by Anantha Raju and produced by Shivakumar under Sangama Films banner. It stars Srinagar Kitty and Haripriya in the lead roles while Nivedhitha makes a special appearance. Jassie Gift is the music director and Krishna Kumar is the cinematographer of the film.

<i>The Heat</i> (film) 2013 American buddy cop action comedy film by Paul Feig

The Heat is a 2013 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Paul Feig and written by Katie Dippold. It stars Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy with Demián Bichir, Marlon Wayans, Michael Rapaport, and Jane Curtin in supporting roles. The film centers on FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn and Boston Detective Shannon Mullins, who must take down a mobster in Boston.

<i>A Date with the Falcon</i> 1942 film by Irving Reis

A Date with the Falcon is the second in a series of 16 films about the suave detective nicknamed The Falcon. The 1942 sequel features many of the same characters as the first film, The Gay Falcon (1941).

<i>Lets Be Cops</i> 2014 American film

Let's Be Cops is a 2014 American buddy cop action comedy film co-written and directed by Luke Greenfield. The film stars Jake Johnson and Damon Wayans Jr. as two friends who pretend to be police officers in Los Angeles. The film co-starred Nina Dobrev, Rob Riggle, James D'Arcy, and Andy García. It was filmed on location in Atlanta, Georgia, and released on August 13, 2014. The film received negative reviews from critics. It was a box office success grossing $138.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $17 million.

<i>Bosch</i> (TV series) American drama television series

Bosch is an American police procedural television series produced by Amazon Studios and Fabrik Entertainment starring Titus Welliver as Los Angeles Police Department detective Harry Bosch. The show was developed for Amazon by Eric Overmyer, and the first season takes its inspiration from the Michael Connelly novels City of Bones (2002), Echo Park (2006), and The Concrete Blonde (1994). It was one of two drama pilots that Amazon streamed online in early 2014, and viewers offered their opinions on it before the studio decided whether to place a series order. The seventh and final season was released on June 25, 2021.

<i>Kindergarten Cop 2</i> 2016 American film

Kindergarten Cop 2 is a 2016 American comedy film starring Dolph Lundgren and directed by Don Michael Paul. It is a standalone sequel to the 1990 film Kindergarten Cop, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Principal photography in Maple Ridge, Langley, and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada took place for 28 days, from July 27 to August 24, 2015. The school at which the film was produced is Kanaka Elementary. The film was released by Universal Pictures Home Entertainment on DVD in the United States on May 17, 2016.

<i>Shaft</i> (franchise) Film series

The Shaft franchise consists of five action-crime feature films and seven television films, centered on a family of African-American police detectives who all share the name John Shaft. The first three features may be described as blaxploitation films, the television film series is a mystery, and the fourth feature installment is a crime thriller. By contrast the fifth film installment, released to Netflix, is a satirical buddy-cop comedy.

<i>Black and Blue</i> (2019 film) Film directed by Deon Taylor

Black and Blue is a 2019 American action thriller film directed by Deon Taylor from a screenplay by Peter A. Dowling. The film stars Naomie Harris, Tyrese Gibson, Frank Grillo, Mike Colter, Reid Scott, and Beau Knapp, and follows a rookie police officer who goes on the run after she witnesses her colleagues commit a murder.

References

  1. ↑ "Blue Streak (2000) - Financial Information".
  2. 1 2 3 Blue Streak at Box Office Mojo
  3. ↑ Natale, Richard (September 20, 1999). "Comedy 'Blue Streak' Is Off and Running at No. 1; Box Office: Costner's 'Game' takes second spot; low-budget 'Beauty' enjoys strong opening weekend". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
  4. ↑ "Blue Streak (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes . Flixster.
  5. ↑ "Blue Streak Reviews". Metacritic .
  6. ↑ "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  7. ↑ GENE SEYMOUR (September 17, 1999). "MOVIE REVIEW; Lawrence Gets Behind the Wheel". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  8. ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 18, 1999). "FILM REVIEW; When Too Much Success Plagues a Diamond Thief". The New York Times . Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  9. ↑ Roger Ebert. "Blue Streak". Chicago Sun Times . Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  10. ↑ "Lawrence on a Hot Streak". ABC News. October 20, 2000. Blue Streak 2 would re-team Lawrence's criminal character with cop Luke Wilson in the time-tested 48 Hours buddy formula.
  11. ↑ Fleming, Michael (October 19, 2000). "Col's $20 mil double dip for Lawrence". Variety.
  12. ↑ Rebecca Ascher-Walsh (February 6, 2001). "Cut It Out. Plus, plans for a Blue Streak sequel". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 21, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2020. Blue Streak screenwriter Steve Carpenter has just handed in a script for the sequel
  13. ↑ Bradford Evans (May 26, 2011). "The Comedy Sequels That Never Happened". Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved November 25, 2012.
  14. ↑ "Blade Babji". Sify . Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  15. ↑ "'Kiladi Kitty' Ready for Release". 2012-06-04. Archived from the original on 2012-06-04. Retrieved 2021-08-26.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.