Believe it or not (I think you'll choose the former), but Bad Boys 2 has been one of the most anticipated movies of my summer. The original came out way back in the 20th Century, 1995, and was immensely entertaining, so count me in if the sequel promises to be bigger, bolder and brasher.

I was not disappointed.

Will Smith built his leading-man franchise from the original, and Lawrence was successful in many bad comedies because of the original. Both are welcome back for the sequel, because their chemistry is exactly what the audience wants in buddy cop action flicks.

Director Michael Bay directed the first Bad Boys, plus The Rock, Armageddon and Pearl Harbor since then, so you know what to expect - and "intelligent, thoughtful, chick-flick" is not it.

The action is top-notch, full of bullets, bodies, 'splosions, chases on land and sea, "whoa" moments, laughs aplenty and babes in scantily-clad outfits. The movie is packed with quick edits, quick quips, fast cars, gunplay galore and crashes of all sorts.

I love summer movie season!

There are also the requisite slow-motion shots that let us know when Smith is "serious," and the action is "riveting." True.

I know the people of Miami were ticked off that the city allowed the movie crew to shut down a major artery in the city in order to shoot the ultimate car chase. After seeing it, I think it was worth the inconvenience. Fantabulous stuff, with cars speeding, slamming and spinning down the highway for ten minutes.

The bad guys come out the wazoo, made up of Cubans, Russians and Haitians, a regular United Nations of rogue characters. To catch them, Smith and Lawrence engage in breaking the rules, illegal cop work and everything we enjoy with nary a concern for the civilians showered with destruction. Good times.

Lawrence, married with a family, is trying to settle down out of the furious work partnered with playboy Smith, who is making moves for Lawrence's sister. Outside of Smith, all of the uptight folks engage in New Age psychotherapy that doesn't seem to help much. This includes Joe Pantoliano, the typical Captain who rides our heroes but let's them get away with everything.

All seem to be losing their sanity regularly, and therapy doesn't seem to be solving any of their issues. Besides, the movie wouldn't be any good if they resolved their problems, now would it?

On top of that, their predicament ratchets up a notch because Lawrence's sister, played by the scrumptious Gabrielle Union, is a Drug Enforcement agent mixed up in the goings on.

The movie does run a little long, towards the two-and-a-half hour mark, so the filmmakers could have cut out over 15 minutes and not lost much. Seems that they didn't want to lose any of the comic relief that doesn't fit with the story as a whole. Then again, those comedic scenes are hilarious.

Another bit that subtracts points is the language. Oh my. Every sentence is "eff' this" and "effin' that." Yet, the movie is incredibly violent, too, and I wasn't disturbed. I am desensitized.

The finale is, naturally, unbelievable and highly improbable, but it's smooth and exciting, so why not?

It really just fits in with the larger-than-life feel of Bad Boys 2. What ya gonna do but go see it for yourself?