Welcome everyone to the first of many reviews pertaining to films that have actually come out this year so far. I will try to get as many of these as I can alongside the 2019 catch ups so we might as well start with the first one I saw back in January which was also not only the first movie I saw in the theater (and sadly the only one I was able to see), but also the first theatrical movie of the decade I saw (funny how I ended the decade with a Will Smith buddy movie, and started it with just that). So when it comes to the Bad Boys series I really only watched the first two relatively recently (like just two months before this one came out) so I am a newcomer when it comes to these movies. I already did reviews on the prior two so if you want more details on what I think of them I’d recommend checking those out, but long story short I enjoyed the first one, while the second one is a huge guilty pleasure for me. So when I first heard that they were making a third installment I didn’t really have much of an opinion but the trailers looked pretty fun and so they convinced me to give the previous ones a shot and I was curious to see how this one would turn out, even more so when the reviews turned out to be surprisingly positive. And wouldn’t you know it turned out to not only be really good, but also the best in the series. Let’s join Mike, and Marcus once again to see what really made this one work as well as it did.
Taking place more than a decade after the second installment, officers Mike Lowery, and Marcus Burnett are still kicking criminal butt and Marcus is about to become a grandfather to his daughters’s newborn. With this Marcus tells Mike that he intends to retire from the force, which doesn’t sit too well with Mike who intends to keep doing this job until he dies. All of a sudden at a party Mike gets shot by an unknown assailant with a connection to his past and gets seriously wounded. After he recovers Mike soon realizes that he is just one of many to have been attacked sets out to find out the identity of his attacker and bring him to justice by teaming up with the tech driven police team, AMMO, that is on the case led by Mike’s ex-girlfriend, Rita, to solve this case. As for Marcus well he is very reluctant to join Mike despite the insistence from his partner. But when things start to heat up, its up to the Bad Boys to team up once again and save the day.
Now I personally found Will Smith’s Men In Black 3 to be a really strong threequel that followed up an inferior second installment turned out to be far better than I would’ve expected. I’m glad to say that history has repeated itself as this is indeed a vastly superior picture to Bad Boys II, one that is more grounded and works much better as a follow up to the original. I think among what really makes this movie work is the fact that just like other surprisingly thoughtful long belated follow ups like Live Free or Die Hard, and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, it justifies itself by acknowledging the time that has passed between installments and uses that to develop the characters and bring up new, and interesting conflicts for our main characters to face as well as provide some nice emotion thrown into the mix that was actually quite frequent throughout and was really effective. Sure there are times where it can feel a little too dramatic like out of a Spanish soap opera (which may have been the intent given the constant jokes referring to them), but it works more than it doesn’t and it kept me invested. There is also quite a bit of substance involving some of the themes of the movie and how it relates to Mike’s character arc. This is also not dissimilar to what Men In Black 3 touched upon in asking “what kind of mark do you want leave on the world?”, and “what do you want your legacy to be remembered for?” and it really does elevate the proceedings and gives the characters a lot more depth this time around. But for those who want some good laughs, not to worry as this one still has all of the fun jokes, and interactions that come with this series with some of them being among the funniest yet. In particular whenever Marcus gets frustrated with Mike’s actions, and a bit inside an airplane are among the highlights for me. I do have some issues though, like some parts can drag a little too long, and there are times where the tone can be a little uneven (its one of those jump from a serious scene that just happened to a someone making a joke situations, though fortunately it doesn’t happen too often). But just like the two aforementioned long awaited sequels I just mentioned the writers really did have a worthwhile story to tell, one that didn’t rely on nostalgia to make an impact.
Michael Bay decided to sit this one out after having worked on the previous two and so we get two relative newcomers when it comes to a big movie like this in Belgian filmmakers, Adil El Arbi, and Bilall Fallah who are mostly known for smaller movies, and TV work. They do a very good job of making this movie feel like their own while also making it feel right in line with the other two as well, and the movie looks really nice with some nice cinematography from Robrecht Heyvaert which captures the look, and feel of Miami very well and it thankfully doesn’t look as over saturated as Bad Boys II did. Now as for the action I also found it to be very well done as while I don’t hate Michael Bay’s style of directing (I actually really enjoy it when he does car chases) it felt a bit too much in the last one (which as I said in my review was a double edge sword for a couple of reasons). Here the action is shot in a way where we could see whats going on, and the filmmakers really did take advantage of the environment around them to craft some creative sequences. Whether it be the opening driving sequence where Marcus, and Mike are speeding through the streets Miami to get to their destination, a shoot out in a garage that involves all of this colored smoke, the motorcycle chase through that involves all sorts of mayhem (my personal favorite), or the climactic shoot out in an abandoned ruin in Mexico City they all manage to deliver what an action junkie would want and are even better because we are invested in these characters and the story. But what I really like most is how the action doesn’t distract from the drama of any given situation and really there actually isn’t a whole lot of it for a good while as just like the first one they come in small bursts rather then be non stop chaos which I think is a benefit. Granted there are times where the action can be a little overlong like in the finale, but it still is fun nonetheless and the music by Lorne Balfe is also nice, and catchy (yes they do play that iconic song in a couple places to very fun comedic effect). It is always fun to see what newcomers to the action genre can bring to the table and I am very curious to see what this particular duo brings to the table in their next project.
As much as I enjoy Bad Boys 2 in that guilty pleasure kind of way, one of its biggest problems as a movie is in how Mike, and Marcus were written as unlikable character who would always argue, and act like jerks sometimes and it was one of the reasons why that movie didn’t really work as a sequel to Bad Boys. Here on the other hand not only are Mike, and Marcus are much better written, and fleshed out, but the movie even does look into Mike’s devil may care behavior and calls him out on it when it goes a little too far. We really get to learn more about him and his past and there are certain twists and turns that do give him more depth and make him a compelling protagonist despite his faults. Once again it ties into the whole leaving your mark on the world question and Will Smith is excellent throughout, especially in the more dramatic scenes where he really does sell the drama. He also once again has great chemistry with Martin Laurence who is once again having a blast as Marcus who wants to retire but is willing to get back into the action to help his friend out. They are a far more likable duo this time around and we do get to see their relationship develop thanks to the time between installments and see age has affected them, and their decisions. I just find it amazing that despite nearly 17 years between movies they still have just as much energy together as they did back then. It was also a lot of fun to see Joe Pantoliano reprise his role as Captain Howard and he once again is hilarious with his many fits of rage, and he even gets a great mentor/mentee scene with him giving advice to Mike. Then there’s the AMMO team comprised of the likes of Paola Nunez as the leader (and also Mike’s ex-girlfriend), Rita, Vanessa Hudgens’s weapons expert, Kelly, Charles Melton as the jokester, Rafe, and Alexander Ludwig as tech guy, Dorn, who are essentially a next generation team of young officers who use technology to stop crimes while limiting the casualties, and collateral damage (some shades of Spies in Disguise in that aspect). While I was a little worried on how this new team would be portrayed, they were actually quite a bit of fun to hang out with and they didn’t distract from the core characters. In terms of who gets the most to do Rita has some nice interactions with Mike, while Dorn actually does get something of a brief backstory and Ludwig does a good job portraying this timid personality in such a muscular guy. But I will say, I was really surprised at how well handled the villains were for this movie. The main baddies in the previous ones were just these one dimensional drug lords who just want to make money, whereas here the threat is much more personal and is very much centered on revenge in the form of crime lady, Isabel “La Bruja” Aretas, played by soap opera star, Kate del Castillo, who proves to be very intimidating, and willing to do whatever it takes to bring down Mike, and her son, Armando, played by Jacob Scipio who is also in it to avenge his father, and retrieve his money. How they both relate to Mike I will not say, but lets just say I was very surprised and they are easily the best baddies yet in this series. Given how things end there will likely be a 4th movie, and if the pre credits scene is any indication I am very much curious to see how certain characters will interact and I’m all for it.
For a franchise that was thought to be past its prime its just crazy to see how they were able to nail this long belated installment and revitalize it! Bad Boys For Life is a perfect example of how to bring an action franchise roaring back to life with a worthwhile story that acknowledges the time that has passed, some effective emotion the elevates the proceedings, memorable action sequences, strong humor, the main duo kicking butt once more, and strong villains added into the mix. Putting aside the slightly overlong running time, and action sequences, some parts that are a little too melodramatic, and the tone which can sometimes be a little uneven, this is still a really fun action movie that I had an absolute blast watching it in the theater (first time I’ve ever seen a movie in Dolby). This, and Spies In Disguise make for a surprisingly appropriate double feature as they are both Will Smith buddy comedies that in a way look back on his legacy as an action star while also being highly entertaining (they also share a surprising number of similarities both apparent, and subtle). Its also yet another home run from Sony who has been on a role when it comes to follow ups like Spider-Man Far From Home, the Angry Birds Movie 2, and Jumanji the Next Level. If your a fan of these movies then you are bound to like this one as well and heck if your just in the mood for some action movie thrills this will more than do. So all I have left to say is bring on Bad Boys Forever or whatever it ends up being called!
Rating: B+
Leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 