Directed by: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Joe Pantoliano, Paola Nunez, Jacob Scipio, Kate del Castillo
The Bad Boys ride together, but are not dying together anytime soon. After seventeen years, the Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) are back in a third installment which distinguishes itself somewhat from the previous two Bad Boys movies. First of all, the guys aren't getting any younger, and Bad Boys for Life examines that idea as Mike's past comes back to haunt him. After being shot and nearly killed by the vengeful son of a drug lord the guys offed in the first film, Marcus, a new grandpa, decides to retire while Mike spends months recuperating from his wounds.
Marcus correctly tells Mike that there are more days behind them than in front of them, family is important, blah, blah, blah. Mike is less than thrilled at Marcus' retirement, even labeling Marcus QUITTER in his phone contact list, but with the help of a new squad of young cops, Mike goes after the man who nearly shot him dead on a Miami sidewalk.
The trouble is, Bad Boys for Life falls back into the pattern of high speed chases, gunfights, and fisticuffs whenever it threatens to be about anything more than high speed chases, gunfights, and fisticuffs. I remember very little about the first two Bad Boys films, except I'm sure there was lots of violence and explosions. Bad Boys for Life also presents Mike with an intriguing dilemma concerning the shooter, but the dilemma is all too neatly handled in a fiery conclusion in which Mike seems to forget the same person also killed some of his close friends and associates.
Smith and Lawrence have easy chemistry. So much so they seem perfectly comfortable spouting off one-liners while bullets whiz by them and explosions occur just feet away. This is par for the course in the cop-buddy genre, as is the apoplectic captain (Pantoliano), who loves Mike and Marcus, but wishes they would stop costing the city millions every time they work a case.
Bad Boys for Life opens the door for a Bad Boys 4, and based on the box office grosses of Bad Boys for Life, I'm sure the fourth film will be coming to a theater near you sooner than later. Like the previous sequels, Bad Boys for Life is heavy on slick production values, and some scenes are amusing, but barring anything unforeseen, I can't imagine Bad Boys 4 would be different from the last three. After all, if a formula works, stick with it. And Bad Boys for Life is the epitome of formula.
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