The Death and Life of Bobby Z (2002)

46% of users liked it
(4,366 ratings)

Ex-Marine and convicted criminal Tim Kearney has been marked for death by a murderous biker gang, and now in order to cheat death he will assume the role of a powerful, recently deceased drug lord in this pulsating crime thriller starring Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne. When Kearney (Walker)… More Ex-Marine and convicted criminal Tim Kearney has been marked for death by a murderous biker gang, and now in order to cheat death he will assume the role of a powerful, recently deceased drug lord in this pulsating crime thriller starring Paul Walker and Laurence Fishburne. When Kearney (Walker) copped a plea with a scheming DEA agent (Fishburne) to impersonate surfing drug lord Bobby Z, his back was against a wall. Now, as the former convict convinces everyone including Bobby Z's girlfriend (Olivia Wilde) that he is in fact the man he claims to be, the drug dealer's old enemies turn up ready to settle some old scores. As the bullets begin to fly, the only choice Kearney has is to run for his life. Hunted from both sides of the law, Kearney attempts to protect the real Bobby Z's son despite the fact that his flight may find him missing out on some tidy illegal profits. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 37 min.
Directed By: John Herzfeld
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure, Mystery & Suspense

In Theaters: Nov 17, 1982 Wide
On DVD: Nov 17, 2007
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Joe Leydon, Variety
Pic overall has the feel of something tossed off to pass time and pay bills between more prestigious gigs.
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews
...ultimately manages to overcome its myriad of deficiencies to become a surprisingly entertaining little actioner...
Keith Breese, Filmcritic.com
There's a reason this went straight to DVD, folks
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
The only extra on the disc is a 'making of' featurette.
Brian Webster, Apollo Guide
Filled with head scratchingly dumb twists and cornball dialogue, this is not exactly a brilliant film. Yet it's got a slick look and at least a few passable action scenes.

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

Bannan i

I think I'm being generous, but come on this was just TERRIBLE.
Manu G

To live a life of his own, he has to die first. Very good film! To tell you the truth I didn't know what to expect from this movie but I was gladly rewarded. Olivia Wilde wow, such an amazing hot woman, she drives me crazy and acts pretty good, reminds me of younger version of… More
To live a life of his own, he has to die first. Very good film! To tell you the truth I didn't know what to expect from this movie but I was gladly rewarded. Olivia Wilde wow, such an amazing hot woman, she drives me crazy and acts pretty good, reminds me of younger version of Julia Roberts, she has a great future ahead of her. The story was excellent and very interesting. Good ending! Tim Kearney is a loser. He's already in prison for the fourth time because of a criminal offence. There he's offered a deal with the DEA, which would involve his impersonating a legendary drug dealer, Bobby Z. Tim is told that the real Bobby Z has recently died of a heart attack in an embassy in Thailand, shortly after getting out of prison there. The plan that had been in operation at the time of Bobby's death was for him to be exchanged for a DEA agent that was being held by a Mexican drug cartel. The Feds explain to Tim that if he agrees to go along with this "transfer," he will be free to escape south of the border once the DEA agent is safely back on the American side.
Cynthia S

Not bad, not great. Paul Walker may get a lot of razz for his acting, but I will take his acting any day over Keanu Reeves. The actor I was really disappointed in was Laurence Fishburne...he totally could have been left out of this movie. Overall, the movie does a good job at keeping… More
Not bad, not great. Paul Walker may get a lot of razz for his acting, but I will take his acting any day over Keanu Reeves. The actor I was really disappointed in was Laurence Fishburne...he totally could have been left out of this movie. Overall, the movie does a good job at keeping action lovers interested, but there definitely was something missing....a decent plot. This movie had potential, but I feel the director did a lousy job and produced a mediocre film.
jay n

Ordinary crime actioner is a decent enough time waster as long as you don't have expectations of anything special. Paul Walker, a very handsome but frequently wooden actor, is better than usual but the film probably would have been better had he and Jason Lewis, a much better… More
Ordinary crime actioner is a decent enough time waster as long as you don't have expectations of anything special. Paul Walker, a very handsome but frequently wooden actor, is better than usual but the film probably would have been better had he and Jason Lewis, a much better performer, switched roles.
Dean M

Fine Paul Walker's action-packed thriller movie as well as his action scenes are cool.
Deb S

The Death and Life of Bobby Z, is an action thriller with Tim Kearney (Paul Walker) as our three time loser/hero. Kearney is a convict who's an ex-Marine and clearly not so much a bad person as one who has frequently found himself in trouble due to circumstances rather than… More
The Death and Life of Bobby Z, is an action thriller with Tim Kearney (Paul Walker) as our three time loser/hero. Kearney is a convict who's an ex-Marine and clearly not so much a bad person as one who has frequently found himself in trouble due to circumstances rather than intent. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2w3t8o0" target="_blank"><img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/2w3t8o0.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=i3um2f" target="_blank"><img src="http://i52.tinypic.com/i3um2f.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Kearney's life is in peril since he killed a biker gang boss in prison. He is offered an opportunity to walk free, as long as he's willing to impersonate a drug kingpin who bears an uncanny resemblance to Kearney, who has just died. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=111mmgx" target="_blank"><img src="http://i51.tinypic.com/111mmgx.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Lawrence Fishburne is great in his role as the Drug Enforcement Agency cop who puts Kearney up to this task. But when the switch backfires, everyone in the world is after the fake Bobby; who takes off with the 6-year-old son of the real Bobby on a furious run for their lives. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=ogj8zl" target="_blank"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/ogj8zl.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Gorgeous Olivia Wilde appears as Elizabeth, Bobby Z's former girlfriend. <a href="http://tinypic.com?ref=2dke8bc" target="_blank"><img src="http://i56.tinypic.com/2dke8bc.jpg" border="0" alt="Image and video hosting by TinyPic"></a> Of course, there is more here than meets the eye as Kearney now has the feds, the drug lords, and a biker gang after him. Not a good candidate to survive, but he is an ex-Marine after-all and we never bet against the Marines.
Lee K

i thought this was going to be alot cooler!