 Here's an interesting example of a film with interesting timing. Released in the beginning of 2020, this happens to be one of the last films I saw in theatres before everything shut down, thanks the that horrible C-word (and I don't mean the one that's often okay to say in Britain). So, I guess it could be said that I have a little bit of a soft-spot for this, as it stands as a reminder to me that sometimes we just want to be entertained, even if the film is a little off the wall. 'Bad Boys' was always a good example of such a thought.
I even remember that at the time, I was looking at this as one of those rare, hidden gems that could be found within the deep, dark pit that is the January/February dumping zone. It's the same every year, lately (save maybe for 2021 and 2022), but as long as one has their eyes peeled for them, these not-so-hidden gems can be found. 'Bad Boys for Life' was definitely one of these, and provided another rarity in reaching into our nostalgia and not messing it all up! I mean, here we have a title that probably should have sucked, just based on what it is - a third title that no one was really asking for at the time, cranked out about fifteen years too late. And when you look at the critic's consensus for 'Bad Boys II,' it's a little bit surprising that they have decided tho push forward with the 'Bad Boys' franchise. But I'll be damned if they didn't grasp at our nostalgia and fully succeed. I might consider this the weakest of the bunch at this point, but it's still about as fun as a 'Bad Boys' movie ought to be. Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) come speeding back into our lives, and we welcome them with open arms. Honestly, I remember feeling it when I was sitting there in the theatre, as if to say "I didn't realize I missed this." Just as we fondly remember the pair, Mike's still confident in his driving skills, while Marcus reluctantly goes along for the ride, on the edge of vomiting all over that sleek interior. The perfect scene to snatch us back up after so long of a wait. After a bit of fun chaos, we find out Marcus has a newborn grandchild, and during a celebration, Marcus mentions retirement. This pretty much goes against Mike's thoughts of being partners forever, calling back to their mantra - "we ride together, we die together, bad boys for life" (pulled from 'Bad Boys II'). Before they know it, their friendship is tested, when a case very personal to Mike pops up, and Marcus refuses to get back into things, and become the family man he wants to be. There's actually quite a bit that happens in between all that, I'm not gonna lie, but this is one of those movies that's full of interesting surprises along the way, so no spoiler territory here. More will be revealed in the review for 'Bad Boys: Ride or Die.' Interestingly, in its own way, even for a balls-to-the-wall 'Bad Boys' movie, things get pretty deep here. It was actually a great film for developing both Mike and Marcus, as it peels back some never before seen layers to them, humanizing them a bit more than they were before this. Directorial team Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (credited as Adil and Bilall) had to have been fans of those original films, as they do a solid job here in keeping the R-rated heart of 'Bad Boys' alive, but making it their own thing. I think if you liked the first two, this one will be just as entertaining. That said, I still love the action-fest that is 'Bad Boys II' a bit more than this, but remember that I go against other critics on that. It's a good resurrection to the series here, and Adil and Bilall do these Bad Boys justice. 4/5
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 I think this is a good opportunity to get something perfectly straight about my opinions on Michael Bay. I've felt for quite some time now that Bay has always been a pretty damn great action movie director as long as he keeps his hands out of the cookie jar that was my childhood with things like 'Transformers' and 'Ninja Turtles'. If he takes the director's chair on something more original, like the 'Bad Boys' films here, or even 'The Rock', and to a lesser extent, 'Armageddon' (say what you will about that movie, the cast is still its best feature).
Despite what critics have to say about this particular chapter being the lowest rated on the batch with a super-rotten rating of 24%, I am personally stuck on how insanely fun the movie is, and it serves as a friendly reminder that Michael Bay is out to entertain us the way action movies were always made to. To be fair, "there's no way that you could perpetrate that amount of carnage and mayhem and not incur a considerable amount of paperwork." as the great film 'Hot Fuzz' reminds us. But to also paraphrase the film, this is a movie made for someone who just wants to switch off that brain of theirs. Taking place eight years after the first film, Miami PD detectives, Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) investigate the trafficking of ecstasy, looking out for a huge career bust. However, while usting up a Klan meeting in search of the drugs, a shootout occurs, Mike shoots Marcus in the butt, and we soon learn that in the background of all this, Marcus is intent on changing his job up to something a little safer, and leaving Mike as his ride-or-die partner. In the meantime, unbeknownst to Mike and Marcus, Marcus' sister, Syd (Gabrielle Union) works undercover for the DEA as a money launderer for the Russian mafia, headed in Miami by drug lord Hector Juan Carlos "Johnny" Tapia (Jordi Mollà). Of course, when family gets involved, "shit gets real." Marcus not only had to watch out for his sister while trying to bring down a drug lord, but also unbeknownst to him, Mike and Syd are secretly a bit of an item. So as one can probably tell, a lot of the comedy comes from Marcus' mystery here. I think just to be fair, I should mention that even in the era of 2003, there are a few jokes and gags here that one can't necessarily get away with these days, and there's some degree of homophobia going on here. But IF you can see this as a product of its time, and look past some of the more unfortunate material, as far as action movies for the sake of action, this has got to be one of the best. Not only does it feature one of my favourite all-time car chase sequences, but it's also where I fell in love with single-take action sequences. Of course, I cannot talk about this film without talking about Reggie (Dennis Greene), introduced here for the first time as Marcus' daughter's first date. In one of the funniest scenes in the series, Marcus and Mike test Reggie's character, and you kinda feel bad for the poor kid. That said, his character goes through some of the best background development over the next couple of films. I will be sure to mention him in the next couple of reviews for the series, as he just adds to the fun of it all. So, while there may be a detail here or there that wouldn't necessarily fly these days, I feel like I can still recommend this to those who are looking for some high-octane action. You can definitley back-to-back the first two, but know that they both stand on their own all the same, and while the first is more substance, this one's all about style (but like, in a good way). Just go into this knowing full well who was sitting in the director's chair, and it can be a super fun time! 4/5  For as much as I actually enjoyed the most recent of these films for what they were as decently done bits of nostalgia, I can honestly say that they really don't have anything on the first two Michael Bay flicks for me. And oh yeah, I say that knowing full well that 'Bad Boys II' is the lowest-rated among them. Hell, that one's actually my favourite, but we'll get to all that in that review. For now, let's go in the way-back machine to 1995. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence were established comedy TV superstars with their respective shows, and ready to move on up.
As it turns out, the casting for this new concept for a different take on a buddy cop movie couldn't have worked out better. The film introduces us to funny but fierce family man, Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and smooth-talkin' lady magnet, Mike Lowrey (Smith); a couple of renegade cops whose foul language and violent attitudes were perfect for us 12-13-year-olds back in the day who were actively watching 'Fresh Prince' and 'Martin' at the time. So yeah, I fondly remember some parental units having a time with this, and that's just part of what makes it classic. Lifelong friends, the pair have become narcotics detectives for the Miami PD, under their Captain, Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano). Upon their biggest career bust of $100 million worth of Mafia heroin, they, and the rest of the department come to work one day to find the evidence cleared out from the evidence vault. Unless they can recover said heroine in the next 72 hours, Internal Affairs, headed by Alison Sinclair (Marg Helgenberger), threatens to shut down the whole department. This leads Mike to seek out one of his informants, Maxine Logan (Karen Alexander), to look for suspects who have suddenly become rich, leading her, along with her friend Julie Mott (Téa Leoni) to be hired as "escorts" by former crooked cop, Eddie Dominguez (Emmanuel Xuereb). Soon enough, the party is crashed by Dominguez's French drug kingpin boss Fouchet (Tchéky Karyo) and his henchmen, almost immediately leading Mike and Marcus into murder territory along with their efforts to relocate the stolen heroin. As Julie becomes a surviving witness, wires become crossed on the identities of Mike and Marcus, providing some comedy throughout most of the movie in which Marcus has to try to pose as Mike, and vise-versa, to some pretty comical results. It's funny, I'm not generally for a lot of bickering in movies, but there's something about Smith and Lawrence's back-and-forth in these movies that one can't help but love. I think more than anything it's the couple of times they use their anger for each other on other people, which not only gets funny, but somehow kinda badass as well. What I liked best about checking this out recently for the first time in years is that it provides one hell of an interesting time capsule. This was before Smith became a box office draw of immeasurable proportions, and it's also when Martin Lawrence was in his prime. To top it all off, I just remember this being a hard-R-rated movie for the time due to its violence and language, and being one of those movies a guy like me almost had to sneak around to finally see. I got to it upon its video release, but I've always hated the fact that I never got to see it on the big screen... maybe one day. Is it worth going back and checking out now? Does it hold up? Well, it was 1995, so there's a few bits and pieces of it as far as tech and police-working technique that's more than bloody likely dated to all hell at this point. That said, I really must say that this was something that helped define Michael Bay's overall style, and it was all so much better when it was still in the 90s. It's high action, swearing, violence, explosions, and fast camera work at its finest, and as a classic action flick, I can still highly recommend it! 4/5 |
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