With a gap of 17 years between Bad Boys 2 and Bad Boys For Life, it would be fair to question whether another instalment is really worth it but if anyone can pull it off, Will Smith can. After all, he did give us the surprisingly brilliant Men In Black 3. I was hoping this would present itself as an opportunity to persuade the hubby to finally watch the second film – I had a real Hot Fuzz moment when we first got together – but the first film has aged so badly that I’m afraid that chance may be lost for good.
Everything about this film screams nostalgia and it opens in true Bad Boys fashion, with detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) racing through the streets of Miami in a sleek and sexy Porsche, bickering as they go. The reason for their urgency is a sweet nod to the longevity of their friendship – Marcus Burnett is about to become a grandad.
Later that evening, as our dynamic duo celebrate the milestone with a few drinks and their fellow detectives, Marcus restarts a decades old argument between the pair – they are getting to old to still be chasing down criminals. To prove that they are still as fit and spry as they have ever been Mike challenges Marcus to a footrace down the Miami strip, but Mike is shot by a mysterious assailant who gets away.
Although the event finally persuades Marcus to retire, it only spurs Mike on and he starts an investigation into the shooter. As other officers are killed, Mike links the deaths to agents who he worked with on an undercover case with a ruthless drug cartel, decades before. Realising the killers vendetta is personal, Mike joins forces with a newly formed task force, and a new generation of agents, to take the killer down.
You don’t have to be an avid Bad Boys fan to know that its success is not built on its brilliant storytelling or emotional depth but rather the fact that it revels in the bullet-spraying, explosion-loving carnage that permeates the films, and the rock solid chemistry of its central protagonists. Thankfully, Bad Boys For Life has stayed true to its winning formula and we are treated to high octane car chases, fast action fight scenes and overtly excessive explosive sequences.
Returning to their respective roles, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence haven’t lost any of their brilliant banter and it feels as though the last 17 years were a mere moment ago. Smith carries most of the film’s weight on his shoulders, scratching a little bit under the surface of the materialistic superficial sweet-talking cop we know and love, this leaves Lawrence, who has had very little time on the big screen over the last 10 years, to relax into the comedic relief of Marcus’ ‘I’m too old for this shit’ chalk to Lowrey’s cheese.
In the supporting cast, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton give the film a tech-savvy, modern changing of the guard feel , without undermining the heart of the franchise. Whilst none of them felt strong enough to lead the fore in the next film, they were great additions to the franchise.
In only his second ever acting credit, Dennis Greene reprises his role as the shy, quiet Reggie from Bad Boys II, who some of you may recognise as the poor kid who is interrogated and terrorised by the two cops when he tries to take Marcus’ daughter on a date. Whilst Reggie’s reprisal is an unexpected surprise, the proverbial cherry on the top is the return of Joe Pantoliano as the ever-suffering Captain Howard.
Whether it is due to the lack of Michael Bay at the directorial helm, or the solid attempt at a more cohesive and with-the-times storyline, Bad Boys For Life is arguably the strongest and most entertaining of the three and is, without a shadow of a doubt, a fun and thoroughly enjoyable watch.
