Movie Review - Bad Boys For Life

The Bad Boys series is an odd series of films because the first two, despite not being that good, are cult classics because of the fantastic chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence's characters, along with the action. They had messy plots, average/ below average editing, and rely a bit too much on vulgar language and sexy stuff to keep people's attentions. In short, they're definitely products of Michael Bay. And yet I see people like the characters Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett and they action they're involved in. So if we were to remove Michael Bay from directing and maybe have him just have a cameo in the film we can have an genuinely good movie right? The answer is yes.

Bad Boys For Life is again not directed by Michael Bay and is instead directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah and while this is the only film I've seen from them I think they really improved on the formula that was originally set down. Saying that though I think there will be some people who will not like this film because Bad Boys For Life doesn't go over-the-top as the previous two in its action and violence/ profanity. To me though I'm fine with that because that over-excessiveness from Bay is replaced with much better editing, writing, and humor. It's not perfect and it's definitely a popcorn movie, but it's a fun one that I can get behind.

Let's start with our main characters: As much as we say he portrays women badly, Michael Bay also does the same with men by making them giving them a lot of bad traits. Look at the main two characters, one is a perverted, loud-mouth, asshole cop and the other is kind of meek, easily pushed around, cop. And villains of the previous two movies are just plain assholes who kill their own goons if they don't do something as simple as not wiping their shoes on the welcome mat. We also got overly angry police chiefs, lots of gangs of random murders and druggies, lairs, and in the second movie straight up white supremacists (who we thankfully get to see shot at the start of the film).

In this film though we have a lot less of this, things are calmer and that fits with how much time has passed in real life and in the movie's world. I mean all the returning actors are older and can't do as much as when they were younger, like 25 years younger. There's still some a-holes and a few druggies in the movie, but the old characters and the new character mesh well together and there's still some good violence and profanity. Additionally, unlike the previous movies, our main characters go through actual character growth. We wouldn't get much of that from Bay, but from Adil and Bilall they execute that pretty well.

The story revolves around a mysterious man killing certain people that seem to link with our main characters and so Mike and Marcus have to find who it is and take them down. In other words, a plot fitting for a film from the 80s and 90s, simple and to the point. However I feel there's less cop work in this film and more character development, which is kind of a plus and negative. I personally was more fine with the character bonding, but I thinking about it I was hoping for some more intense cop duty. It's the sophisticated side of my brain fighting the bro side of my brain. Plus there are some moments I felt weren't really that fun or needed. And the finale, while full of fun action, had some story moments that I don't think land well.

Anyways, so how are Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in their returning roles? They're great! Will Smith especially because his character goes through some great development throughout the movie. He was still cocky and with not much scruples to him, but he had a good heart and really went out of his way to try and protect the people he cared about. Martin Lawrence was mostly the same throughout the film, but he had some great comedic moments and also that level headedness that made the two a great team.

Then we have the villain played by Jacob Scipio. Unlike the previous villains who are just crazy drug dealers, his character is just a straight up killer who wants to destroy everything Mike Lowrey holds dear. We don't know why at first, but it plays a lot into the story and to me was a breath of fresh air because if they did another drug dealer as the villain it wouldn't be as memorable. I don't say this too often and I'm kind of surprised I was like this on Bad Boys For Life, but when he was on screen I was worried because we quickly find out that ain't just talk, that he has the skills to set up how dangerous he is.

Which brings us to the action, which is probably what most people will want out of a Bad Boys movie. While it didn't compare to the incredible bridge scene in Bad Boys II, I found the action to be great, mostly because it was well shot and not a bunch of horrible shacky-cam and quick cuts. Unlike the previous two where it was just the main two characters jumping in and getting into gun fights and car chases we see Mike and Marcus working with other cops in their sting operations and shootouts. And these other cops weren't just meat shields to run out and die, they actually contributed and made a difference. I think though camerawork and editing are the key elements that make the action in this film a lot more enjoyable than in the previous installments.

However, I will admit that the CGI could have been better at times. With Will and Martin now older they need their stuntmen to do a lot more action and some of the CGI used to put their faces on their doubles does slack at times. And for a film that didn't use too much CGI that's kind of a problem. It might not sound like it should be a big complaint, but I think it should be because besides the action Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are the main reason people are going to see this movie.

In the end Bad Boys for Life was a pretty good movie. It's not high art and it wasn't trying to be high art and some fans of the previous two won't like it because it's not at crazy. The story has its ups and downs and it might not be as wild as the previous movies, but it's got so much better editing and camera work. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence still got the chemistry from the previous films as well, making this a definitely worthy sequel for the Bad Boys series. If you want some popcorn action with some great smack talk mixed in, this is the film for you.

Tentative score: 7.5/10

Definitive score: 7/10