No Surrender Cinema: Bulletproof (1996)
The action comedy Bulletproof hit the quarter century mark earlier this year, and since I have a strong affinity for pretty much anything to do with the year 1996, I felt it would be fitting to take a look back at this film now that it’s reached that milestone in this edition of No Surrender Cinema.
Bulletproof brings Damon Wayans back into the action game after he spent the years since his role in The Last Boy Scout starring in comedies like Mo’ Money, Blankman, and Major Payne. Here he plays Rock Keats, a thug who pals around with petty crook Archie Moses (Adam Sandler). The two like to steal cars and get into bar fights that Archie instigates and Keats finishes, but Keats is more concerned with the real way that Archie is making money. It turns out that Frank Colton (James Caan), an auto dealership owner who is very much in the public eye is actually a drug kingpin, and Archie is doing Colton’s dirty work for him. Keats tells Archie that he could use some dough and to hook him up, and since Keats is Archie’s BFF, he has no problem recommending his pal for the gig.
While Archie thinks he’s doing right by his buddy, it turns out that Rock Keats is playing him. See, Rock Keats is actually Jack Carter, an undercover cop who has been assigned to take down Colton. Jack has no problem doing his job, but feels that Archie is just a simpleton who has been misled, and wants to help him get his life on track. Jack’s captain and others in the department feel like Jack is just wasting his time, and prefer that he just focus on getting Colton behind bars. Jack doesn’t want to hear it, and tells them that when the shit goes down, he doesn’t want Archie getting caught in the crossfire.
The stage is set for the big bust, but if you’re sitting there thinking “this probably didn’t go as planned”, give yourself a cookie. The ever so trusting Archie accidentally blows Jack’s cover, and realizes that his literal partner in crime Rock Keats is a no-good, dirty stinkin’ cop. Jack chases after Archie, dodging drug dealers and bullets whizzing by as he tries to explain himself to Archie. Unfortunately for Jack, his bad day turns worse when Archie is struck in the back by a crane, causing him to accidentally pull the trigger of his gun and shoot Jack right in the head. Fearing that he’s just killed a cop and can go down for murder, Archie flees, and finds himself on the run from both the law and an extremely irate Colton.
Jack recovers from the wound, and has a steel plate inserted into his head that comes into play later in both humorous and tense situations. Jack also isn’t the same person emotionally, as he’s now cold and distant to most people, a fact that is thrown in his face by his former doctor, now girlfriend, Traci. Jack decides that in order to put the ordeal with Archie behind him, he’s going to be the one to bring him into custody. The reunion of Jack and Archie is far from the good time that their usual misadventures were, because Jack doesn’t believe Archie’s apology over the accident, and Archie still has a target on his back for crossing Colton. That forces the former friends to go on the run together, and it takes every ounce of Jack’s being to not kill Archie before Colton does.
As time goes on, Jack’s soft side starts to reemerge, and we get glimpses of “The Rock and Archie Show” once again, as the two pals realize that as long as Colton is after them, they can only trust each other. Everyone from hired goons to dirty FBI agents try to do our unlikely heroes harm, but the duo survives every attempt before a final battle at Colton’s palatial estate. Will their bickering cease long enough to bring Colton to justice? Or will there be any last minute twists that send our heroes six feet under?
Bulletproof is a fun movie, one that I feel has always been overlooked. I’m not the biggest Sandler fan, but I know a lot of people who never mention this one when discussing his earlier efforts. There are some great bits of comedy and more than a few lines that have been oft repeated by my friends and I through the years, and I think Sandler is best when he has someone to play off of. Damon Wayans wasn’t established as an action star, and the film didn’t try to make him into a supercop either. He was just a guy who became hardened by circumstances beyond his control and didn’t take shit from anyone, not even his best buddy Archie. I also appreciated how Bulletproof gave a comedic touch to the major showdown sequences, like Archie alerting Jack to the assassins’ presence by blasting porn on the TV to wake him, or by Colton removing his toupee in the midst of beating Jack down.
Is it tremendously hilarious or filled with tons of over the top action? I can’t say that it is. But what Bulletproof delivers is an hour and a half of solid entertainment. Wayans and Sandler are perfect for the roles of Jack and Archie and are the heart of this film; the rest of the cast, even Caan as Colton, feel like afterthoughts. The film moves along briskly, going from one wacky scenario to the next and never allowing the viewer to get bored. One minute a naked Archie is trying to escape Jack’s custody by slipping out of a bathroom window naked, creating an awkward moment for all involved, and then before you know it Jack is using that steel plate to headbutt his way out of certain death. Plus, as I mentioned before, there are numerous quotes that still crack me up, and a handful of them probably wouldn’t make the cut if this film were to be made in modern times. There are a few plot points here that are never fully fleshed out, but let’s be real… films like this don’t have to be so complex. Sometimes all we need as action fans is a fun flick that allows us to turn our brain off for a little while, and this one is just that. Bulletproof is exactly what you’d expect from an action comedy in the mid-90’s, and while it won’t ever be mentioned in the same breath as Bad Boys or Money Train, it’s still a winner in my book.
Bulletproof can currently be found on the Starz/Encore cable package, and on Hulu for all you streamers out there.
