The first half-hour of Blue Streak
is
taut, occasionally clever and quite funny. The rest of the movie suffers in comparison

Martin Lawrence (Life) stars as Miles Logan, a skilled cat burglar whose big score has just fallen through. During an attempted heist of a $20 million diamond, his partner Deacon (Peter Greene) betrays him and kills one of the crew. Running for his life and realizing the cops will apprehend him at any minute, Miles hides the stone on a construction site. While he’s on his way to prison, the rock is safely hidden away.

Two years later, Miles leaves the pen — and his troubles are only beginning. The construction site is now the 37th Precinct headquarters of the Los Angeles Police Department. He tries in vain to get inside and realizes the only way he can do it is with a badge.

He obtains a phony ID and finds himself instantly paired off with a straight-arrow rookie detective (Luke Wilson) and answering robbery calls. The strange thing is, Miles, having been a thief, is a natural detective. Knowing just about every motive and technique in the book, he can solve some crimes in seconds. When he beats up uncooperative suspects or plays fast and loose with regulations, it actually makes him look like a more credible L.A. cop.

Miles has little appreciation for his newfound talent. His new “job” keeps him away from his diamond. Deacon is hot on his trail and will kill for the jewel. Furthermore, one of Miles’ first “arrests” is his former driver, Tulley (Dave Chappelle). Tulley is understandably bewildered and is ready to blow his ex-partner’s cover.

The idea is great, but as the movie progresses, it loses its drive. There’s a needless subplot about a dope ring that makes the storyline unravel. As a result, the finale becomes more confusing than cathartic. In addition, much of Lawrence’s schtick wears thin. Lawrence does have an appropriately gruff-but-benign presence, but some of his bits seem more suited for his old sitcom Martin than here. The scene where Miles prepares for his disguise by mimicking episodes of Cops is a riot, but the scenes where he leads meetings are flat and uninspired.

The action scenes are derivative (some of them look straight out of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off or Point Break) but effective. Director Les Mayfield (Flubber) shoots a lot of the flashier stunts in wide takes, so they look more convincing. In addition, the supporting cast is remarkably solid. Wilson gives the bumbling Carlson more personality than the average straight man. It’s a lot of fun to watch him start admiring Miles’ bad boy attitude.

Blue Streak isn’t a bad little movie, but because it misses its potential, it often seems to be more of a letdown than it really is. (PG-13)

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