Film: Bad Boys For Life
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Joe Pantoliano, Paola Nunez, Charles Melton, Jacob Scipio, Kate Del Castillo
Director: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah
Cinematographer: Robrecht Heyvaert
Music by: Lorne Balfe
Produced by: Columbia Pictures
Distributed by: Sony Pictures
Review by: Klep Napier
Rating: 3.5X’s out of 5X’s
Detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett are back, but not quite like before. See, with skills come experience but with experience comes ... well, age. That’s right folks, bulletproof Mike and wise cracking Marcus are beginning to feel the mileage as two of Miami PD’s highly seasoned veteran narcotics detectives and this time around they face their toughest assignment yet. When Lowery is brutally hunted by his past, he and Marcus band back together for one more exhilarating ride taking the Bad Boys franchise to newer heights.
Where it wins folks is Bad Boys For Life sticks to it's formula. Even without Michael Bay helming direction, blockbuster newcomers Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah serve one hell of an action packed dish while keeping it hilariously real. It’s impossible for Martin and Will to lose their chemistry. It appears clear as day why the two were given this project over [wait for it] Dana Carvey and Jon Lovitz 20+ years ago. And thank god for that. This go around we see realistic growth in our heroes. Something most sequels fail to deliver when it comes to adding on to a franchise. They never cheat us for one second giving us things you may not want, but giving us realities that you willingly accept. And almost everyone returns to play. Marcus (Martin Lawrence) whole whiny “woosah” gag from the second installment is carried over into this film as he has a lot more to lose this time around. Meanwhile Mike (Will Smith) struggles with slowing down his trigger finger lifestyle before it gets him or someone close to him killed. Something we haven’t seen yet.
The new comers to the franchise, Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton are a fresh treat. Vanessa Hudgens convinces us all that she can do badass action starlet well alongside the likes of Mike Lowery.
There are, however, a couple of losses one of which is pretty minor. For instance, these guys waited way too long to give us a trilogy. The time gap is terribly visible in the two. You’ll love the characters so much that you want to see the youth in them. But that won’t be the case at all. Instead you see clear as day a washed up playboy struggling to keep his swag and reputation in a new generation, alongside a now overweight partner too timid and mature to walk the streets like a bad boy. All of which makes a funny combination when you look at it from a comedic perspective, but puts a damper on any high hopes for a Bad Boys 4. However, the story is self aware and pokes fun at the obvious.
This franchise has been one of the few to live up to it's hype not once but twice. The third time around brings new depth to it's characters and much needed closure. Like I said prior let’s face it, Lowery and Burnett have ran their course and there is NO need to continue on. There is however a post credit scene that hints otherwise. Nothing confirmed and we won’t give details, but it was definitely not needed. Especially considering how long they took producing this project.
Overall Bad Boys for Life gets the stamp of approval as strictly an action movie alone, and a cherry on top of this franchise. You will laugh, gasp and laugh some more while gripping the edge of your seat. Nothings changed but the title of the movie folks we recommend Bad Boys For Life for old fans and newbies to the franchise!