I've always appreciated Barret's devotion to Marlene, and I think he's just an all around good character.

Then Advent Children happened, and his first line had to be "What up foo?" I always get sad whenever I find myself watching that movie and that line comes up. Doesn't take away how awesome Barret is in the first game, but it is sad that they seemed to more solidify the "Mr. T knockoff" notion in that movie.