"Blue Streak"

by Thom Bennett

Never - repeat NEVER - hide your stolen property in a police station. It can only lead to mayhem and wackiness.

Martin Lawrence is jewel thief Miles Logan. After a high-stakes robbery goes horribly awry, he hides a $20 million diamond inside the air vent of a construction site, just before his arrest. Three years later he is released from prison only to find that the construction site where he hid his loot is now an spanking new L.A. police station. In order to recover his stash, Logan impersonates a highly decorated detective and is teamed up with a rookie partner played by Luke Wilson. Using his criminal expertise to solve cases he inadvertently shows his partner the ropes and wins the admiration of his "fellow officers".

"Blue Streak" is hardly the first cop buddy movie ever made. The formula has been tread upon endlessly and with varying degrees of success. While "Blue Streak" is hardly a high point for this particular genre, motor mouth comedian Martin Lawrence is a perfect fit in the role of the criminal turned detective who must fast-talk his way through one strange situation after another. He brings an element of humor to a film that desperately needs it while Luke Wilson provides him with an excellent straight man. Earlier this year, Lawrence appeared along side Eddie Murphy in the hilarious and surprisingly touching prison film "Life". Where that film came complete with a fine story and director (Ted Demme), "Blue Streak" lives or dies with Martin Lawrence's ability to make you laugh.

While the premise of "Blue Streak" may be a tad far fetched, the film manages to keep moving with equal doses of action and comedy. Comedian Dave Chappelle and excellent character actors Peter Greene and William Forsythe, help fatten up the paper thin plot of what could easily have resulted in an extremely mediocre film. However, all the elements in place and disbelief successfully suspended, "Blue Streak" is a rather fun, action-packed film perfect for those who need to be slowly weaned off of summer blockbusters before the more subtle fall and winter lineups settle in.