Bad Boys: Ride or Die

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Just to get it out of the way, no, I am not here to talk about that time Will Smith slapped Chris Rock, and that having an effect on how I saw him in this movie. Speaking personally, I just wanted to see this as I did the previous instalments of this franchise with these two buddy cops playing off each other - one, the smooth ladies man who gets shit done, the other, the comedy relief. Having said that, I have to say, Smith and Lawrence are still perfectly likeable in their respective roles as Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett.

Having said that, however, the guys have reached an age where they ought to be ready to retire. Maybe squeeze one more film out, but if so, make it a finale at this point. This was a series that was successfully resurrected, and we don't wanna drive it into the ground. In fact, the whole thing starts with a nod at their age, when Mike ends up getting married to his physical therapist, Christine (Melanie Liburd), and Marcus ends up having himself a heart attack on the dance floor, thanks to eating too much greasy food.

In his brief coma, Marcus has a vision of the now deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) who tells him it isn't his time. After this, Marcus starts to run on the assumption that he cannot be killed, and has a bit of a mental break. It does get pretty funny, even if at times it feels forced and you get about as frustrated with him as Mike does. I have to say, he can hold his own here, but I do prefer Lawrence's performance in the first two films. That said, he sort of remains the heart of the film.

Soon, a news report accuses Captain Howard of having ties to drug cartels, thus making him a corrupt cop. Mike and Marcus become determined to prove their former captain's innocence, which includes working with Howard's killer (spoiler alert for those who haven't seen 'BB4L' yet), Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio) who happens to be... actually, y'know, maybe I'll just leave that part out. But it does become interesting in this film when the filmmakers decided to have him work on the side of good.

As more is revealed about the corruption in their own police department, Mike, Marcus and Armando have to pretty much become fugitives from the crooked law, just to prove their captain's innocence and someone else's guilt. In the meantime, hellbent on revenge for her father's death, is U.S. Marshal, Judy Howard (Rhea Seehorn), whose primary target is Armando. There's definitely more to the plot here, but that's pretty well the gist of it: the Bad Boys find themselves as fugitives after their captain is found to be corrupt, and they try to clear his name against a crooked police force.

As far as the action goes, it really hasn't died out yet, and it's about as faithful as ever. Even the series creator Michael Bay shows up for a brief cameo, and potentially to make sure his creation is being done justice. You're not gonna get the sheer fun of 'BBII' here, but it's definitely a good follow-up to 'BB4L', as we're getting into these guys' later years, and some real-life shit is finally starting to come to light for these guys. I must also mention Reggie's (Dennis Greene) character development and his stand-alone, show-stealing scene here. No spoilers, but holy shit, is it ever awesome!

It's my opinion that as far as the 'Bad Boys' series goes, 'BBII' will always be the definitive one, and that's going totally against the grain of other critics, but somehow I feel flowing with audiences who remember the fun days of action movies. This is a little closer to the last instalment in that while it's fine, it may prove to be a little more forgettable over time than the first two, which were both instant action classics. But it is safe to say the heart is still there, and Michael Bay's baby is being well taken care by the directorial team of Adil & Blall.

4/5

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