Reviewed by Russell Baillie
BLUE STREAK **
Cast: Martin Lawrence
Director: Les Mayfield
Rating: M
Having played second banana to the likes of Will Smith (Bad Boys) and Eddie Murphy (Life), Martin Lawrence finally strikes out on his own. And just plain strikes out.
You can only blame part of that on the eye-rolling, camera-mugging,
hard-sell Lawrence. His action-comedy vehicle hasn't got anything going for it scriptwise.
Except a promising caper premise - jewel thief hides stolen diamond on construction site just before his arrest and once paroled finds the building is the LAPD's flash new station.
The only way in, he figures, is to become a detective for a day, which quickly turns into a brilliant career given his previous on-the-job experience.
Trouble is, the film owes a crippling debt to 48 Hours, Beverly Hills Cop, various Lethal Weapons and Rush Hour.
And Lawrence doesn't have the comedic shoulders to carry the film, and none of the standard-issue cliches that are the supporting cast give him a much-needed foil.
Oh, there is a good car chase or two. And one nicely underplayed joke - when "Officer" Lawrence climbs into the back of a squad car out of habit.
"You can ride up front, you know," says his partner, none the wiser.
But, judging from the abundant flat jokes and his anxious screen-hogging performance, Lawrence deserves to take a back seat for a while yet.
