Blue Streak (film)

Blue Streak

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Les Mayfield
Produced by Neal H. Moritz
Toby Jaffe
Screenplay by Stephen Carpenter
Story by Michael Berry
John Blumenthal
Starring Martin Lawrence
Luke Wilson
Dave Chappelle
Peter Greene
Nicole Parker
William Forsythe
Music by Edward Shearmur
Cinematography David Eggby
Edited by Michael Tronick
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release dates
 September 17, 1999
Running time
 93 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $65 million[1]
Box office $117,758,500[1]

Blue Streak is a 1999 American buddy cop comedy film directed by Les Mayfield and starring Martin Lawrence, Luke Wilson, Dave Chappelle, Peter Greene, Nicole Ari Parker and William Forsythe. The film was shot on location in California. The prime shooting spot was Sony Pictures Studios which is located in Culver City, California.

The film was released in September 1999 and opened as the number one movie in North America. It went on to gross nearly US$120 million at the worldwide box office.[1]

The soundtrack was also a success and has been certified platinum. It features artists such as So Plush featuring Ja Rule, Keith Sweat, Tyrese featuring Heavy D, Foxy Brown, Kelly Price and others. The lead single from the soundtrack was "Girl's Best Friend" performed by Jay-Z. The single garnered much airplay on both television and radio.

Plot

Jewel thief Miles Logan (Martin Lawrence) participates in a $17 million diamond heist in Los Angeles. One accomplice, Deacon (Peter Greene), wants the diamond all for himself, killing one member of the team, and Logan escapes to a nearby construction site, hiding the diamond in a vent as the police close in. Deacon escapes, while Logan is caught and arrested as a robber, spending two years in jail. Upon his release, he argues with his ex-girlfriend, Janiece (Tamala Jones), who is angry for him lying to her about being a banker. Returning to the spot where he hid the diamond, Logan is dismayed that the site is the location of a new police headquarters.

Posing as an eccentric pizza deliveryman, Logan steals an ID card from a rookie detective, and has his contact Uncle Lou (Richard C. Sarafian) create a new persona for him, Detective Malone, a hotshot detective transferring from West Covina. After inadvertently foiling a prisoner escape while searching for the diamond, Logan is teamed up with naive detective Carlson (Luke Wilson) and sent out in the field. He teaches Carlson many different things on the job, substituting his criminal knowledge for police work, such as determining from a poorly-staged break-in that a car repair owner faked the theft of his own hubcaps with the intention of selling them on the streets, both finding the hubcaps and informing the owner that he would actually receive less for them on the street. Logan and Carlson bring in Logan's former accomplice Tulley (Dave Chappelle) during a failed robbery attempt forcing Logan to convince him to go along with the arrest to maintain his cover, and capture a truck that is carrying a large shipment of heroin, and is promoted to Lead Detective of the Burglary Division with the admiration of his colleagues. Although Carlson discovers that his identity is fake — Logan having never intended to spend this long in the station and therefore believing that a more detailed background wouldn't be required — Logan convinces him that he is actually from Internal Affairs.

Eventually, Logan recovers the diamond from the vent in the Evidence Room. He is briefly delayed when he discovers that it has fallen from its original hiding-place, and then accidentally drops it into the shipment of heroin. Before he can retrieve it, he and Tulley are volunteered for a sting operation to catch the heroin smugglers. At the delivery, Deacon (who had been stalking Logan throughout the film) shows up and tries to take the diamond but he, Tulley, and Logan are caught by the smugglers and are forced to pretend like they're real drug dealers. However, the lead smuggler (Olek Krupa) still doesn't believe them, and matters are only made worse when Deacon tries to expose Logan, and Tulley starts panicking. A high speed chase and shootout ensues, and Deacon is eventually killed by Logan.

Eventually, Detective Carlson discovers Miles Logan's identity as a criminal posing as a police officer. However, he discovers this after a car chase led Logan across the border to Mexico, where he is out of the LAPD's and the FBI's jurisdiction, and also where he claimed that he was actually a Mexican Federale. Even though he is only inches over the border, the other detectives are grateful for Logan's help and accept him as a friend, allowing him to leave 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.[2] It ended its run with $68,518,533 in North America, and $49,239,967 internationally for a total of $117,758,500 worldwide.[1]

Critical reception

The film received mixed reviews. Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 36% based on reviews from 69 critics.[3] [4][5]

Roger Ebert praised the film giving it 3 stars out of 4.[6]

Sequel

There were plans for a sequel which never materialized.[7][8][9][10]

Soundtrack

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Blue Streak at Box Office Mojo
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Blue Streak (1999)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster.
  4. ↑ Van Gelder, Lawrence (September 18, 1999). "FILM REVIEW; When Too Much Success Plagues a Diamond Thief". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  5. ↑ GENE SEYMOUR (September 17, 1999). "MOVIE REVIEW; Lawrence Gets Behind the Wheel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-11-24.
  6. ↑ Roger Ebert. "Blue Streak". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved 2012-05-29.
  7. ↑ "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.
  8. ↑ Fleming, Michael (October 19, 2000). "Col's $20 mil double dip for Lawrence". Variety.
  9. ↑ Rebecca Ascher-Walsh (February 6, 2001). "Cut It Out. Plus, plans for a Blue Streak sequel". Entertainment Weekly. Blue Streak screenwriter Steve Carpenter has just handed in a script for the sequel
  10. ↑ Bradford Evans (May 26, 2011). "The Comedy Sequels That Never Happened".

External links