Archie Moses is a small-time thief in Los Angeles who smuggles drugs for drug lordFrank Colton, who launders his drug money through a car dealership. Moses is unaware that his best friend, Rock Keats, is actually LAPD undercover cop Jack Carter, who befriended him only to infiltrate Colton's gang. Carter has Moses include him in Colton's next drug shipment, secretly planning to arrest Colton and take in Moses, whom he has come to care about, unharmed. Carter's undercover status is revealed before he can enact his plan, however, and a hurt Moses pulls a gun on him. During the raid on Colton's warehouse, an out of control crane hits Moses in the back, causing him to accidentally shoot Carter in the head. Moses then flees the state, and is subsequently found and arrested. Carter miraculously survives and makes a full recovery with the aid of his physical therapist, Dr. Traci Flynn, with whom he falls in love. Moses is brought into custody, and he agrees to testify against Colton, but the trial is set to take place at the other side of the country. Carter's superior officer, Capt. Jensen, orders him to personally transfer Moses to the courtroom. Carter harbors resentment against Moses, and tensions escalate once the simple transfer goes awry. Colton learns through bribed federal agents and LAPD officers of Moses' attempt to testify against him. As they flee from Colton's men, Carter and Moses slowly mend their friendship, and are successful in returning to Carter's precinct. However, Colton apparently holds Flynn hostage, and blackmails Carter into turning Moses over in order to save Flynn. Carter and Moses pretend to comply with Colton, and shoot their way through Colton's guards. It is later revealed that Flynn is on Colton's payroll, and is responsible for leaking Carter's and Moses' whereabouts to Colton. Moses takes a bullet in the shoulder to save Carter's life, giving Carter time enough to arrest Flynn; Moses then shoots Colton dead. Moses gives the incriminating documents on Colton to Carter, who allows him to escape. Moses heads to Mexico to become a bullfighter, with Carter and Moses' mother later accompanying him.
Reflecting on the film years later, director Ernest Dickerson spoke of his regretful experiences making the film:
"There's a movie I did a couple years ago called Bulletproof. I'd like to just erase that whole experience. You know, I'm proud of a lot of the films I've done, but there's some situations that happened that in retrospect maybe I could have handled them a little differently if I had been a little smarter about it. But that's all second-guessing."
Reception
gave a score of 8% based on reviews from 39 critics. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.
Box office
Bulletproof grossed $6 million its opening weekend, placing it at #1 at the box office. By the end of its theatrical run, it pulled in $21.6 million in North America and $1 million internationally for a worldwide total of $22.6 million.
A direct to video sequel Bulletproof 2 was released on January 7, 2020, directed by Don Michael Paul and stars Faizon Love and Kirk Fox as Jack Carter and Archie Moses replacing both Wayans and Sandler.
