Directed by: Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah
Release date: January 17th, 2020
Rating: 7/10
Bad Boys for Life, starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, is the third film in the Bad Boys franchise. Picking up years after the last one, Marcus (Lawrence) has decided to retire. Meanwhile Mike (Smith) wants to keep the Bad Boys together. Upon finding out that someone is trying to kill him, Detective Mike Lowrey enlists the help of Marcus as well as a new age law enforcement squad, A.M.M.O.
This is the only Bad Boys movie to not be directed by Micheal Bay and thank God, I don’t know if I would’ve been able to watch the whole thing had he been involved. Still, it doesn’t feel too far of a departure from the other films in terms of style and direction.
The film looks great too. A lot of neon colors and bright oranges and purples make for a visually interesting film if nothing else. The cinematography is also a lot more stylized compared to the previous films. Those are dated, of course, but Bad Boys For Life has made a film for a new generation of moviegoers.
The antagonist of this film is a lot better than the other movies. Those ones were disposable drug lords or gang bosses, this one actually has a connection to the main characters and it’s interesting to see that development over the course of the movie. While it isn’t a groundbreaking connection that has never been done before, it is definitely a step up from previous films.
Of course there’s the plot line of Marcus wanting to stop/quit/retire in this one, he’s been doing it since the 90s. I don’t know if that’s a running gag I’m glad they included, or an overused plot line that I’m tired of at this point. Either way it’s in the movie.
The A.M.M.O. squad is fine. They’re made up of younger people, so there’s a FOIL between them and the Bad Boys. They’re funny enough and don’t hinder the movie at all.
Bad Boys for Life is an exceptional sequel to the first two films that any fan of the series will enjoy. It does what all sequels should do, and that’s improve upon the movies before it. Even though it’s a step up from the last two movies, when it comes down to it it’s still your boilerplate buddy-cop, action movie that’s a fun two hours.