One of the biggest surprises of 2020 – aside from that whole lockdown thing, of course – was the Bad Boys franchise suddenly lurching back into life to deliver a much needed blast of dumb, frenetic fun when cinema goers needed it most. Taking over the reins from the legendarily bombastic Michael Bay, directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah managed to somewhat duplicate his anything-goes style while actually managing to squeeze in a bit of genuine character growth between ludicrously huge explosions, while Will Smith and Martin Lawrence proved that the intervening seventeen years hadn’t dulled their chemistry one iota.
However, with Bad Boys: Ride Or Die handbrake turning into cinemas, there’s a sense that this franchise still has a few things to prove as a lot can happen in four years. Not only is there that infamous Oscars moment that Smith is obviously hoping to move past, but Arbi and Fallah had that whole issue with the DCEU when Warner Brothers scrapped their Batgirl movie despite it being completed, but this year’s summer season seems to be in something of a box office slump.
What ya gonna do when things get this bleak? Call the motherfuckin’ Bad Boys, that’s what.
We rejoin Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett – inarguably the two most destructive officers of the law in Miami – as they once again tear ass their way through the street in a ridiculously expensive car; but this time, instead of racing to the scene of a crime, the two are hurtling to Mike’s wedding. That’s right, Mike Lowery is finally settling down as he weds the physical therapist who helped him bounce back from being shot by Armando, his own illegitimate, criminal son; but during the festivities, decades of stress, rage issues and endless bags of skittles finally take their toll on Marcus and he keels over smack bang in the middle of the evening.
However, after awakening in hospital, Marcus has had something of an out of body epiphany and now believes that not only should he live life to its fullest, but he actually cannot die. While this is understandably alarming, it’s ironically a stark polar opposite to Mike’s current mindset that sees his usual, gung-ho nature tempered by doubt and panic attacks brought on by the responsibility of marriage and the death of Captain Howard (again, at the hands of his son, Armando).
However, when Captain Howard’s name is besmirched posthumously by accusations of corruption, the Bad Boys ride once again to try and clear his name, but as their disjointed mental states and a sizable conspiracy work against them to leave both Mike and Marcus on the run from their own people.
With bullets flying and people dying, the only place left for Mike to turn is to Armando, who has vital intel on who is behind this dastardly plot, but will aligning himself with his son make him look even more guilty? Also, what’s the deal with Marcus – can he really not die?
Modest action franchises ballooning into vast blockbusters is hardly new, after all both the Fast And Furious gang and John Wick all blossomed into gargantuan juggernauts with every new installment. However, the Bad Boys movies have managed something slightly different as the series scale arguably peaked with the deranged insanity that is Bad Boys II, a sequel that basically rewrote the book on fashioning a obnoxiously frenzied follow up. As a result, Bad Boys For Life actually benefitted by slowing things down and actually giving it’s two bickering characters existential crisis to wrestle with between bouts of spectacular gunplay. This thread is nicely followed in Bad Boys: Ride Of Die that not only continues the series habit of giving its heroes sitcom style plots to resolve, but actually flips the script by making Marcus the reckless bullet sprayer and Mike the more hesitant member of the team.
Not only does it mix things up nicely, but it’s rather an ingenious way for Smith to rebuild his image after his viral, slap happy antics from 2022, rather than have him doubling down on being a gun-blazing womanizer who still uses terms like “drip” despite being over 50. It also give Lawrence reason to be far more involved in the action too after sitting out a lot of the action previously and the notion that he’s now the crazy one proves to be incredibly funny.
Actually, scratch that. The vast majority of Bad Boys: Ride Of Die is actually fucking hilarious, and much like Mission: Impossible or John Wick, this really does seem to be an action franchise that’s going from strength to strength the older its leads become. Plus, after the Batgirl debacle, Arbi and Farrah return to this ludicrously stylised version of Miami with a renewed sense of confidence, hurling all manner of ridiculous fuckery at you at a rate that would make Michael Bay – a man who once based a throwaway joke around a couple of rats humping – insanely proud.
When the film isn’t concerned about juggling the fragile mindset of its two constantly yelling leads, it’s giving Marcus death bed based vision quests hosted by a cameoing Joe Pantolino; chucking in giant, albino alligators to sweeten the climax; giving us another sequence where DJ Khaled gets viciously mauled, and, in the movie’s most rousing moment, even gives put upon son-in-law, Reggie, his own action sequence where his Marine training and video game prowess has him unexpectedly tearing through home invaders like a buck-toothed buzzsaw.
Of course, going to such lengths to prove that the 90s action film is still alive and well means that the odd issue sneaks through with logic probably taking more fatal hits than any of the bullet ridden bad guys on display here. The issue of Jacob Scipio sudden shift to the light side may stink of Jason Statham’s absurdly quick rehabilitation in The F8 Of The Furious, but the actor is thankfully charismatic enough to push through the cold blooded murders he spent the entire last movie perpetrating. Elsewhere, Eric Dane’s antagonist provides a dependable, but vanilla brand of villainy and if you can’t pre-guess a particular twist involving a particular character immediately on sight, then I’d have to assume that there’s a good chance you’ve never actually seen a movie before.
However, in a bombastic action/comedy film, issues like this should barely register between the endless swearing, smashing cars and countless acts of two mature men sorting out their mid-life crisis by waving their guns at each other in public, shooting criminals in the face, or singing their own theme tune when things get really bad.
You know what, give me another one guys – I’m all in. Ride or die.
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