Eddie Murphy protégé Martin Lawrence continues to mimic his mentor's career with this fast-paced action comedy that displays a close affinity to such Murphy films as 48 Hrs. (1982) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984), though it's not as funny as either. Lawrence mugs and throws a heap of high-powered comic energy into his role, and he's to be commended for selling the material of this crassly commercial vehicle so hard, but he simply isn't given the comic lines or situations that will yield big laughs. As his baffled partner, Luke Wilson is suitably affable and confused, and the trademark menace of actor Bill Forsythe is used to unexpectedly funny effect by director Les Mayfield. But Like Mayfield's other projects, including Encino Man (1992) and Flubber (1997), the base material (meaning the screenplay) is flaccid and less than involving -- a sure sign of multiple writers. (Indeed, Blue Streak clocks in at a total of three, and those are the ones that got credit.) Martin would have much better luck in his crusade to recreate Murphy's career one year later with the hit Big Momma's House (2000).
