Bad Boys for Life Bad Boys Returns and It’s a Blast! Grade: B
Source: IMDB
The beloved buddy cop duo Mike (Will Smith) and Marcus (Martin Lawerence) returns for another epic adventure in Bad Boys for Life. The duo will be Bad Boys one last time, as danger awaits them as this time... It's PERSONAL!!! A simple synopsis that doesn't give anything away, gotta love those. The Cinematography was just like any other Bad Boys movie you've seen before. Shots of Miami looks very nice of boats, women, night life, highways etc nothing is done particularly new here. Speaking of something new... The editing was much better this time around, see what happens when you don't have Michael Bay?! You can have nice things, like proper editing. The Score was really average, I didn't care for the soundtrack selections much at all. The cast in this film all in all were fun, looked like everyone had a ball working on this surprise sequel. Will Smith playing Mike was your normal Will Smith performance you've seen a thousand times before, only this time the character has a lot of weight on his shoulder, given Smith more of an edge to work with. Which honestly made this character and performance even better and even a much stronger character as well. Kind of reminds of Cesar in War for the Planet of the Apes even. Martin Lawerence playing Marcus was solid as well, bringing solid chemistry with Smith yet again and t'was funny as well. Let's talk about the villains of this film... Oh my God they were extremely over the top and goofy, but I enjoyed every second of it. These are the best villains of this franchise by far, they gave us a solid back story that makes sense why they seek revenge on Mike, but sheesh they were hardcore nuts. Bringing some gruesome violent scenes I didn't know this franchise was capable of attempting, this honestly felt like this new Bad Boys film was taking on risks and with these villains it paid off. Let's talk about AMMO... I thought they were fine performance and character wise. It's bringing youth to the Bad Boys franchise and thankfully it wasn't annoying at all, they come and go and bring some cool comedy and action to the table. Honestly the only performance worth complaining about is DJ Khaled and his small role... Stick to randomly screaming nonsense on a mic big fellah. I do have flaws for this film. Like I said it can be over the top, which can make it extremely goofy at times. I also felt like the middle was dragging a bit, as I was just getting bored. So am I a Bad Boys fan?! No, but I don't hate the films. Bad Boys was enjoyably average, Bad Boys 2 was just ok. Now with a different director behind the camera, I was wondering how this will all play out. Surprisingly enough this film didn't feel pointless nor a cash grab, it genuinely felt like a different vision was taken place and honestly.. This is the best Bad Boys movie of the franchise by a mile, this is a fun movie. I like how the story of this film offers a variety of comedy, action, and drama and it blends just right. This film offers the best action we've seen in a Bad Boys film by far, let alone the first brutal action sequence taken place in a prison and ambulance... Like sheesh ALRIGHT ALRIGHT! The dramatic side of this film may feel kind of goofy at times, but when it revolves around Mike disregarding the stuff at the end... It honestly makes you feel complete sympathy for the guy, as he seeks his revenge. I enjoyed the comedic side of this film, despite not every joke landing still found it quite funny at times. I think Bad Boys fans are going to really love this film and those never a fan of this franchise, will have finally found something to enjoy for once including myself. Overall, Bad Boys for Life is a solid film! I recommend checking this one out, it's a fun time at the movies! -Mitch Smietana