Luckily for fans of Anthony Hopkins and Chris Rock, “”Bad Company”” is finally out. On Sept. 20, 2001, Touchstone Pictures officially announced that they were pulling the movie from its original 2001 release date due to the terrorist-related plot.

Now, more than six months after its original release date, “”Bad Company”” is finally finding its way onto the big screen.

Not only did “”Bad Company”” have its release pushed back from its original release date, but the film underwent a couple of name changes as well. The first working title of the film was “”Black Sheep.”” This was followed by the title “”Czech Mate,”” which was scrapped in favor of “”Bad Company.””

The plot centers around the street-wise hustler Jake Hayes (Rock), who is recruited by the CIA after his previously unknown twin brother was assassinated while in the middle of a mission to recover a nuclear weapon being sold on the black market. The job of training Hayes to act like his Harvard-educated, CIA-trained twin falls to veteran CIA agent Gaylord Oaks (Hopkins).

To say that this movie is original would be somewhat misleading. The first time that this movie was made was in 1935 by Alfred Hitchcock. After that it was remade twice, once in 1959 and then again in 1979. However, compared to some of the other action movies that have been coming out in the last few years, this movie does have some novelty.

There are some of the usual flaws present in any action movie. The CIA agents with pistols are able to kill the bad guys who have machine guns and outnumber them at least five-to-one. And; of course, when there is a shootout in one of the most prestigious hotels in Prague, not a single person is in the halls of the hotel, let alone caught in the crossfire.

However, by far the strongest point of the movie is the fact that the comic relief is actually funny. Unlike so many action movies that have a bit of slapstick humor sprinkled throughout the movie, this movie has plenty of actual humor. Rock does a great job bringing laughs to the movie at every turn. And, of course, who couldn’t find Hopkins telling Rock to “”Get in the car, bitch”” funny?

Along with wonderful humor, the film also contains some noteworthy cinematic moments. Most of these shots are of some wonderful historical sites in the Czech Republic. These shots are backed up by some pleasant pieces of music.

While “”Bad Company”” has some expected shortcomings, Rock and Hopkins’ unique comedy more than makes up for it. And although this film falls a little short of the “”action”” genre, it is definitely worth a viewing this summer.

***1/2

Starring Anthony Hopkins, Chris Rock; Garcelle Beauvais, Brooke Smith, Kerry Washington

In theaters June 7

Rated PG-13