PLOT: In Colt Lake Tennessee, Sam Evans tackles a meth epidemic. He is sidelined on arrival of Bobby Gaines an undercover agent. Despite Evans local ties, Gaines is hailed as hero. Suspicions arise on Gaines which unravels a complex narrative.
REVIEW: Most of us know Seann William Scott from his performances in American Pie and Goon. He’s often portraying someone a bit on the goofier side, and really going for laughs. Now he’s going for something a bit different in his latest outing, and gets to play a decidedly more gray area. Bad Man is based on a true story and takes place in Colt Lake, Tennessee. It follows the death of a man by a meth-dealing group of thugs, and the cops who are trying to take them down.
Seann William Scott delivers an interesting performance as Bobby Gaines, an undercover agent who is not what he seems. He comes in and completely takes over the small town police unit and does so in a convincing way. As the story progresses, it’s clear that Gaines is hiding something, and he sees the world in a very pessimistic way. Unfortunately, outside of Scott, there’s really not much intrigue with the plot as it’s all very basic. I’m not sure how much this is because of the “based on a true story” element or just the fact that it’s a first-time director, but it meanders a lot and doesn’t feel entirely coherent. It often feels like they’re just buying time until they can get to the conclusion.
I think one of the biggest issues is that we’re mostly following Johnny Simmons Sheriff Sam Evans. Evans isn’t treated with respect by the town and is often regarded as more of a joke. And he doesn’t really prove to be anything but, making it tough to really side with him. Even his moments of finally standing up for himself feel so forced and unbelievable. Then there’s the forced love story that feels a bit by-the-numbers and detracts from some of the more interesting elements. Take the bad guys for example, played by Ethan Suplee and UFC’s Paul Felder. These seemed like some bad dudes that we don’t get to see nearly enough of. Suplee, in particular, was rather terrifying at times. In fact, the entire criminal element feels undercooked and could have used a bit more expansion.
Rob Riggle steals every scene he’s in, but he does feel a bit more comedic than the world around him. Sometimes things are so deathly serious, and Riggle is cracking jokes. While hilarious, it does often feel like a tonal clash. Even still, he was easily one of the most entertaining aspects of the movie. Sadly, this is one of the last roles from Gen V’s Chance Perdomo, who passed away early last year. You can tell he was having a blast with DJ, who is a bit dim, and fits the small-town aesthetic well. Even still, his interactions with Simmons can feel a bit pointless, and he feels a bit wasted.
Ultimately, Bad Man fails to really understand what it wants to be. There are some entertaining moments but they’re broken up by long stretches of stereotypical plot beats. The eclectic group of Sheriffs can be fun to hang out with, but most of their scenes felt more like they were going for jokes versus actually advancing the plot. The film wraps up in such an awkward away, and outside of Scott and Riggle, fails to really provide much intrigue. It’s an easy watch but doesn’t really go past that.
BAD MAN IS AVAILABLE TO RENT ON DIGITAL NOW!
