Old Joe
In a time when Aussie movies are in a bit of bad patch, here is one that really surprised me. It is the Tony Martin brainchild, ‘Bad Eggs', a film that is so serious, that you have to look real hard for its funny bits. Martin has made a very intelligent movie, one that simmers along at a nice pace, includes a fine cast and shows off some of the great Melbourne locations. ‘Bad Eggs' is a movie that proves some cops will go to extraordinary lengths to get to the bottom of the trouble. But no-one told these cops the trouble they might end up in as well……………
Ben Kinnear and Mike Paddock are undercover cops with the elite Zero Tolerance Unit. Busted down to uniformed duties after a series of humiliating blunders, the duo accidentally uncovers a conspiracy that goes right to the middle. Helped only by embittered reporter, Julie Bale and a reluctant computer geek, Northey, Ben and Mike set out to clear their names and expose the villains.Most of the praise for ‘Bad Eggs' has to go writer/director Tony Martin. With this film he has proven that he has a future in the industry. The script he wrote for the film was extremely well written, as it had a fascinating story, some clever character creations (although some of the guys we see onscreen are anything but clever) and the Aussie language we hear in the film is a good reminder of that culture. Yet the story was also quite complex, as we learn more and more about what is actually going on.
Martin's direction was another highlight of the film. With this sort of quality direction, it would be hard to believe this is Martin's first time as a movie director, making this film an even bigger achievement for him. The opening of the movie must have been difficult to shoot, but Tony got it spot on. The film flowed beautifully after the start. I truly look forward to Martin's next movie. Bad Eggs also has a great Australian cast. The main characters in the film are Ben Kinnear (Mick Molloy) and Mike Paddock (Ben Franklin). Molloy gives a pretty good role here, as he is funny and serious at various moments of the film. His expressions are also quite interesting. It is a much better role from Molloy than his performance in ‘Crackerjack'. Franklin (From TV's Crash/Burn), was great in his role, as he was very funny, although he seem not to have to work hard at being this way. Paddock says and does some of the more silly antics in the movie. I love how he goes ‘Chicka-chow'. Another integral character to the story is Julie Bale (Judith Lucy). Here, Lucy shows that she really can act. Lucy and Molloy suit each other onscreen, sharing a good chemistry in ‘Bad Eggs'. Judith also gives her character a steely resolve, something that I enjoyed seeing.
The supporting cast of the film is just as great. Northey (Alan Brough) might be a geek, but proves he is a good guy, who helps Kinnear and Paddock when they need it the most. Heading the ZTU unit is Doug Gillespie (Marshall Napier), who we see has many headaches thanks to his undercover agents. While, Widow Eleanor Poulgrain (Robyn Nevin), help out Ben and Mike, when she could be excused for not doing so. The bad guys in the film are a bit ‘schonky' alright. Ted Pratt (Bill Hunter) is a foul mouthed senior cop, who is definitely not on the level. Helping Ted is Wicks (Nichols Bell), a very sneaky and unethical police official. Then, with a very interesting cameo appearance in the film is state premier Lionel Cray (Shaun Micallef). Micallef was pretty good in the movie, with his character very dubious and having some of the more memorable lines. The various scenes in the film are great. The opening of the film with the out of control car, going into a shopping mall was great to see. Then you have setups such as the fire at the widow's house, the bombing of the house and the driving of a car into a service station gas tank all being entertaining. However there was one scene that reminded of a film that I did not like too much. The infiltration of the highly guarded computer room by Ben and Mike, reminded me of the vault scene from Mission Impossible (1996) for some reason. I also enjoyed the dancing sequence used at the end of the film, with Molloy and Lucy showing that they can dance beautifully together. With that in mind, I also like the musical themes in ‘Bad Eggs'. The music makes the film seem like it is super serious, then at the change of a tone, the film can seem to be very ‘light-hearted'. I like the music that was used in the final scene of the movie, as it gave the film a ‘classy' kind of feeling, with the song in question being "Where or When" from singing maestro Frank Sinatra. The musical score for Bad Eggs was by David Graney and Clare Moore. I have never seen a film that is so serious, yet at times so stupid. The balance of those elements works particularly well here. This film is not meant to be taken that seriously by its viewers, as the movie takes care of that for us. I was weary of this movie, because I was not a fan of the Mick Molloy Aussie flick ‘Crackerjack', but I have plenty of respect for ‘Bad Eggs'. Tony Martin can be pleased with this effort as director, as he has proven to me that he should continue his career in movie-making. I highly recommend ‘Bad Eggs', a film that I believe just might help clean up the ‘bad smells' that are starting to overtake the Australian Film Industry.
CMRS gives ‘Bad Eggs': 4 (Very Good Film)
Jason_Bar1
Just saw "Bad Eggs". It was a refreshing movie, (Compared to other Australian attempts at movie making) and the opening shots of the car "driven" by a dead person had the whole cinema laughing their guts out. You are watching wondering till almost the very end as to "who done it", some new actors, and some that that have probably been in every Aussie movie made...Well worth watching, 7 out of 10 :)
cogs
"Bad Eggs" is an utterly terrible Australian comedy, poorly written and remarkably badly performed by a band of non-acting types (mostly stand-up comedians). It's films like this that reveal the dearth of quality film talent in Australia, and of the misguided efforts to cultivate what little talent that does exist. It is the incestuous attitude within the Australian film industry where it matters who you know and not what you know (or your talent) that contributes so greatly to the problems. Tony Martin is a well known comedy writer and performer – how that translates into feature filmmaker is anyone's guess. It is an amateurish effort from a bunch of personalities clearly out of their depth. Maybe they should have written a sitcom.
