Movie Review: Bad Boys: Ride or Die

A lot has happened to the top creative personnel behind Bad Boys for Life since it was released in theaters in January 2020. Will Smith won an Oscar, got banned from the Academy for 10 years and exposed to the world that Judd Apatow has no clue the level of force that's required for a human being to kill another person with their bare hands. Martin Lawrence embarked on his first serious acting role in an indie thriller called Mindcage where John Malkovich plays a convicted, imprisoned serial killer who rocks a long-haired wig that couldn't have cost more than $20 at Party City. Directing duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah had their Batgirl movie shelved deep into post-production because anti-art stooge David Zaslav wanted to give Warner Brothers a tax break. After this tumultuous personal and professional period, these artists reconvened last year to make another Bad Boys movie. While I clearly have no clue if it benefited their lives away from set, Ride or Die feels like the work of people who couldn't be happier to have the opportunity to leave behind all the industry bullshit they've dealt with of late and get back to what really matters: making movies.

Anybody who saw Bad Boys for Life won't be particularly shocked by the overall direction Ride or Die goes in. The plot is once again just as focused on Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett trying to reconcile with the scars brought on by aging as it is their quest to bring down the bad guys-which in this case is a psychotic corrupt DEA agent (Eric Dane) who has framed them and the late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) for the string of cartel-related crimes he's committed, there's some borderline supernatural quirks sprinkled into the script/action beats that make the film a different brand of over-the-top than it was when Michael Bay was at the helm, and Mike's illegitimate son Armando (Jacob Scipio) gets an unlikely redemption arc after being the co-antagonist in the previous film when a key development early in the film forces him to reluctantly team up with his father. What differentiates it from for Life and ultimately, makes it a bit of an improvement is the greater sense of urgency that its leads and filmmakers bring to the project. These gentlemen have taken some hits in the industry and in the case of Smith, his career looked like it might even be in jeopardy as Ride or Die marked the first time since "The Slap" that he got offered a gig. Ride or Die is the cathartic redemption victory lap that these guys have wanted to take for quite some time now and as both a fan of action films and people triumphantly flipping the double birds to those who have wronged them, it was beautiful to witness. 

Smith and Lawrence's well-established natural buddy rapport feels more meaningful this time around as Marcus and Mike show a real gratitude for as each other while their whole world spins out of control. Even the hilarious ball-busting that represents the bread and butter of their dialogue exchanges is rooted in a sense of love and respect here. These characters have been through the ringer with each other for almost 30 years now and the appreciation for the reliability of each other's presence and the unbreakable bond they share has considerably grown with age. The only way this current iteration of the Lowry/Burnett partnership could've been better would've been if they had saved "We ride. We die together. Bad Boys for Life" line for this installment. Chalk up another loss for whoever decided to name the third film Bad Boys for Life!  

As for Adill and Billal, it turns out that For Life was just them dipping their toes in the Bad Boys water and focusing on acclimating to the world that Michael Bay built without rocking the boat too much. Now that they're comfortable playing in the Bad Boys sandbox, the duo took it upon themselves to go full sicko mode this time around. The blocking and shot selections of the action sequences-particularly in the latter half of the film-is among the craziest this genre has produced in at least the last decade. Drones frantically bob and weave through confined indoor environments to profile exactly what our heroes have to contend with in order to escape with their lives. A camera is placed outside of a descending glass elevator to track the brutal 1 v.1 fight that's taking place inside. An extended first-person sequence in the finale is the seamless mix of video game concepts and movie magic that action filmmakers have been trying to achieve for the past 20 years. All of these choices along with the dozens of other inspired ones that I don't have time to profile here amass to delivering the kind of kinetic, enthralling spectacle that every fan of action films wants to see when they sit down to watch one of these movies. Creating their own distinctly chaotic language in action cinema is really the best way to honor what Bay started and as long as no more clueless evil executive throws their future movies in the trash, this tandem should be able to put together a great, long career in Hollywood.

When the dust settles on this summer, Bad Boys: Ride or Die will go down among the highlights. It's simply a highly entertaining film full of laughs, great action and heartfelt character moments that seems like it's going to resonate with audiences around the globe. Just like last month's The Fall Guy, it's the kind of movie that is tailor made to be consumed on a big screen during this portion of the calendar and it was a real treat to be served up yet another great action blockbuster in a year where there's less product of this ilk than usual on account of the strike-related delays. Wherever the Bad Boys franchise goes next is anyone's guess, but if they do indeed elect to keep it going, hopefully the impressive streak of maintaining its depraved energy and top-notch chaotic craftsmanship over 29 years will remain unbroken.                                             

Grade: B+