Fantastic!

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

30 for 30: Bad Boys **** (out of 4)Excellent documentary covering the rise and fall of the Detroit Piston who would become known as the "Bad Boys" due to their hard-nosed style of play, which included hard fouls, fists being thrown and, in their most controversial move, walking off the floor before an Eastern Conference Championship game was over. This documentary covers the early days of the Pistons when they were playing without many fans and how everything changed when they drafted Isaiah Thomas.With Thomas on board they got Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, Adrian Dantley and head coach Chuck Daly. The documentary features all the main guys back for interviews with the exception of Daly who of course passed away before this was made. The film does a terrific job at explaining who this team was and why it was so hard for them to reach the top. The highlight of the film comes over the course of a two years period when they were trying to get pass the Boston Celtics. Then we get to their Championship run and their battles with the Los Angeles Lakers before Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls coming after them.If you were too young to remember this team then the documentary is going to be excellent at showing you their rise and fall. The film features some terrific interviews with the Pistons but also features interviews with the teams going up against them including Jordan. The documentary mainly focuses on their rise with the last portion talking about the break-up and of course the controversial walking off the court against the Bulls is covered. If you do remember this team then you're going to enjoy looking back at the footage of all the fighting and fouls, which is certainly something missing from today's NBA when we see "rivals" hugging each other before, during and after the game.

This documentary covered the years of the Pistons from the late 80s to early 90s when they were dominating the league with there hard and rug gush play that coined them the name "Bad Boys." The purpose of this film was to inform people about how this team changed basketball for the good and the bad and how they were doing it. The film shows how this gritty basketball team built their franchise from scratch and acquired tough nosed, gritty players who didn't fear anyone, and won championships with there very physical play.In this film it starts off with how awful this Detroit Pistons team was in the late 70s and early 80s. In 1981 they secured the second overall pick and drafted future hall of fame point guard Isiah Thomas. He alone was a force in the league right out of the gate but he couldn't do it alone so they got bigger, more athletic, and offensively sound as they acquire Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorne, John Salley, Dennis Rodman, and Adrian Dantley. They became the most physical team in NBA history and teams always were on edge when they knew they had the Detriot Pistons coming up on their schedule. Every time someone drove in the paint on them they committed some gruesome fouls that would be called flagrant fouls in todays game. With there physical play everybody started calling them the "Bad Boys."They were battling year after year in the playoffs against the two dominant forces in the league, which were the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers. They just couldn't get over the hump and win a championship so they traded Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre. After that big trade they came together and won their first championship and won again the following season. They were stopped in the Eastern Conference Finals by the Chicago Bulls the following year that kept them from a three peat. In the last 10 seconds of that final game is still today one of the most controversial stories in NBA history. The whole Pistons team left the bench with time still remaining in the game and they have been looked down upon ever since. The team soon broke up shortly after the end of that season and that ended the Bad Boy era which was a tremendous transitional period in the NBA. This film really gave very valuable information on this team and also what was going on around the league from the players themselves and they did a remarkable job telling the story. What really stood out to me was when they were showing how physical they were and how they showed no remorse for the other team. It actually seemed like they were intentionally trying to hurt the other players. The story behind the players really exceeded my expectations. Dennis Rodman's story really was inspiring. He came from hard times and "dealing with a mother that didn't love me," as he say in the film, and how he gusted played his heart out on the court each and every time he stepped foot on it. I discussed how this Detroit Pistons team turned there whole franchise around from horrible to outstanding, and how they scratched and clawed there way into becoming one of the power houses in the NBA with their physical play. If you are a fan of the NBA trust me this a film you want to see.

The Detroit Pistons of the 1980s and early 90s were an easy team to love or to hate. On one hand, they were extremely successful and won two NBA championships--championships when the league was being dominated by powerhouse teams like the Celtics, Lakers and, later, the Bulls. So you have to admire their talent--they sure had it. However, on the other hand, the team seemed to deliberately perpetuate the bad-boy image--with cheap shots, intense game play and on/off the court antics that set them apart from the other successful teams of the era. What you think of this film will strongly depend on what you think of the Pistons and what you think of what I would call 'punk basketball'. If you like a game that is very physical and occasionally dirty, the film will be one you most likely enjoy. As for me, I just felt it was all kind of sad and couldn't feel that excited about their success or this film. However, the film was well constructed and is a worth addition to the "30 for 30" series.