It has been 17 years since Mike Lowrey (Will Smith ) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence ) were last seen causing unmitigated chaos on the streets of Miami in the name of justice but the two decade wait for the third installment of the Bad Boys franchise has been worth it with plenty of jokes, explosions, and high speed chases.
The premise of the film sees Lowrey being hunted down by terminator like killer Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio ) at the behest of his vicious Mexcian drug lord mother, Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo ), who had recently escaped from prison after being put there by, you guessed it, Lowrey. Meanwhile Burnett is refusing to come out of his questionably enjoyable retirement to help his partner for one last fight to take down Lowrey's pursuers.
With Michael Bay passing on the baton to Belgian directing duo, Adil El Arbi and Biall Fallah (credited with only their first names ), it was a guessing game what direction the movie would take, especially because the main protagonists are in their fifties and not as agile or physically fit as they used to be. The directors decided on the tried, trusted, and successful approach of their predecessor Bay; lots of gun fights mixed with one-line zingers, of course, 'I'm too old for this sh*t' moments (the men have become old, OK? ).
Unlike the previous incarnations where screen time was equally shared between Smith and Lawrence, Bad Boys For Life sees Smith shoulder most of the airtime which probably reflects both men's career trajectories as this is Lawrence's biggest starring role since 2011's Big Mommas: Like Father, Like Son. There are newcomers to the script with Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig (Vikings ), and Paolo Núñez all involved as supercops in the AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations ) unit, however their impact is limited as the film concentrates on Smith's battle of wits and fists with Scipio.Although the movie may be a sequel, you do not have to catch up on the previous two as the plot line is a new story, however there are plenty of nods to the earlier works with captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano ) still tearing his hair our at the stress inducing antics of Lowrey and Burnett, Reggie (Dennis Greene ) marrying Burnett's daughter, and of course, the famous Inner Circle's song 'Bad Boys' (theme from Cops ). Even Bay himself get a cameo. These throwback references are nice for fans but probably a bit confusing for the uninitiated.
An interesting aspect of the movie is how it subtly challenges the mentality of 'I don't give a damn cos I'm the man' and 'consequences don't apply to me' of the first two movies. Burnett acknowledges his previous actions had big consequences and tries to take a more peaceful route in apprehending criminals as opposed to shoot first, ask questions later. Lowrey's 'real man' (toxic masculinity in 2020 terms ) lifestyle of being a superficial bad ass with an no nonsense attitude is constantly being highlighted by a number of the cast as reckless which has ultimately left him with nothing of substance in his life.
Moving away from the story line and possible hidden meanings and lessons, from an entertainment point of view, what I noticed about Bad Boys For Life is that it is loud, I mean really loud, which was amplified by Omniplex Salthill's cinema superb Dolby Atmos immersive sound. Action scenes are really enjoyable and really enhanced by the 4K laser projection screen so I would advise movie enthusiasts to see this picture in the cinema before it moves to a streaming service (or DVD ).
I was a fan of the previous two films so I had hopes of a decent third effort as I settled into my electric reclining seat and in my opinion, Bad Boys For Life ticks all the boxes for me. OK so it is not a movie which will engage our grey matter but come on, it is Bad Boys. We expect gratuitous action mixed with fun, light, entertainment. It does what it says on the tin and is worth a trip to the cinema to experience it in its full glory.
Rating: 7/10
