Bad Boys For Life came out last week and is, despite the title obvious implication, only the third film in the series. I checked it out finally after a long delay (mainly due to wonky sleep patterns and my l local theater cutting way back on early screenings). Now, I dislike (and hate) the first two Bad Boys movies which were directed by Michael Bay… a guy who only occasionally accidentally stumbles on movies I don’t loath. Thankfully, this new one is not directed by Bay so there was a chance I’d like it… and surprise surprise, the critics kind of dig it so they must be doing something Non-Bay-Like…
Once again Will Smith (in lookin’ good for his 50s mode) and Martin Lawrence (less so) are rule breakin’ cops in Miami… only Lawrence is feeling his age and looking to retire. Then a mysterious figure (hint: from a Mexican drug cartel) starts assassinating random people and our Bad Boys have to get their groove back for one last movie. Along with a new crew of young cops who are in no way being set up for a spin-off or sequel of their own.
Look… I hated the first full hour of this movie. I hated hated hated it’s generic cop’s and robbers story, it’s lack of character for the villain, the comedy, and the action scenes. None of it worked because I. Just. Didn’t. Care. about anything going on in the flick. A full wasted hour on a movie that, goddamn it, actually gets pretty good. I was shocked that an event at about the hour mark actually got the movie into gear… they could have cut that drag of a start down to twenty minutes and had a lean, mean, efficient flick.
But… yeah… the actual plot kicks in and there’s a surprisingly good chase sequence (full of mayhem) and then a reveal about the bad guys that actually had me caring. There was pretty good writing revealing a tragic backstory for Will Smith (never previously mentioned) that gave Smith room to actually… what’s this? Act? I was drawn into the story and they landed the final act set piece in terms of both action and visuals but also… what this? an emotional payoff too? Huh.
The film’s look and action are taking reference from Michael Bay’s messy smashing together of shit and calling it exciting without actually becoming total “bayhem”. The directors are aping some of Bay’s iconic (and cliched) hero shots and filming approximations of his action without subjecting us to the visual noise. I appreciated the effort – they could have just made any old action movie but they made an honest effort to approximate the first two films. Oh… Michael Bay himself makes a cameo in the movie and has a producer credit so I guess they didn’t take his toys away and make him cry.
I give a marginal nod of approval to this movie, despite legitimately hating about half the movie (weird, I know). I have no love for this series though I have ongoing admiration for Will Smith and hope he can get his career back on track. Based on the box office for this one, maybe he’s finally hit on the reboot that works. If you are a fan of the old movies, you’ll surely want to see this one. If you aren’t – and if you just hate Will Smith (or Martin Lawrence) – this maybe isn’t your cup of tea.
Score: 74