Geekscape Reviews ‘Bad Boys For Life’ In 4DX
I’ll be honest. Despite being a big fan of the original Bad Boys films, I was heading into Bad Boys For Life with low expectations. It felt like a sequel that was far too late, hitting theaters 17 years after its predecessor, (which came out nearly a decade after the original in its own right). Its leads don’t carry the same star power either, with Martin Lawrence largely being out of the mainstream while Will Smith’s drawing power being hit or miss as of late. Explosion expert and car wash enthusiast Michael Bay was away from the director’s chair, replaced by the duo of Arbi and Fallah of Black fame. To make matters worse, cynicism towards these nostalgia sequels was at an all time high after dreadful attempts by the Rambo and Terminator franchises. I mean it’s named after a 20 year old song! And you know what? I was wrong! Bad Boys For Life doesn’t miss a beat, feeling like a natural progression from its prequels as opposed to feeling like a yesteryear cash grab thanks to its charismatic leads.
Bad Boys For Life follows Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) as they approach the twilight of their careers. Happy with his life with his growing family, Marcus is ready to hang up the holster. Mike on the other hand, has only grown his legend in the years between films as the quick witted, bombastic and reckless detective who refuses to admit that his age is starting to catch up to him. This difference between the partners creates a rift, with Mike wanting Marcus to ride with him until the end. Unfortunately, neither ends up having a choice when a ghost from the past begins an assassination spree targeting people related to Mike’s arrests. It becomes a race against time both figuratively and literally as the titular bad boys need to track down the younger, faster and stronger assassin before he gets to them first.
To further the theme of the inevitably of aging comes AMMO, a new police task force designed to take down the most dangerous criminals before they have a chance to become a threat. Led by Rita Secada, (Mike’s ex girlfriend played by Paola Nunez), the technologically advanced squad is rounded out by the exceedingly attractive trio of Dorn, Kelly and Rafe, (Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens and Charles Melton). Naturally, the two sides clash when it comes to Mike’s guns blazing style of police work compared to the new tech focused group, but thankfully, any distension between the two doesn’t last long and is quickly replaced with mutual respect, creating an interesting dynamic between the characters involved. One of my concerns going in was that the cliche of the veterans versus the upstarts was going to drag down the film. This never happens, with each cast member having enough time to shine without becoming overbearing.
But make no mistake. Despite the heavy involvement of AMMO, this is still a Bad Boys movie. Which means Mike and Marcus are all over it with their trademark banter and over the top action. As mentioned, Michael Bay is not directing, but you couldn’t tell from how wild the scenes get, (aside from a few not-so-subtle nods that I won’t spoil here). The film features so many high speed car chases, city spanning gun fights and explosions that it almost feels like they were making up for lost time. Watching it in 4DX amplified this experience, with me feeling like I’d be thrown from my chair thanks to the aggressive motion through the seats. There weren’t many other effects used aside from the occasional smoke or spray, but they really weren’t needed when the action scenes maximized their effectiveness. There are long stretches where the effects aren’t used, but when they are, you’re definitely getting your money’s worth.
Lawrence and Smith feel right at home, reminding us why we fell in love with this duo in the first place thanks to countless laugh out loud moments between the two. But the film ends up being surprisingly touching, showing the bond they have developed after nearly two decades of being partners. This idea of bonds and legacies extend to the villains, who have more depth than the typical over the top comic book antagonist we’ve come to expect from movies like this. That’s not to say there isn’t a fair share of campyness to the bad guys, but their ties to Mike end up being a driving force of the narrative. This leads to a high stakes climax that manages to be as emotional as it is action packed. It took me from thinking the movie would be unnecessary to wanting to see this franchise continue. They prove throughout that there’s more life in this series than we gave it credit for.
Ironically, despite leaving us wanting more, the film’s biggest flaw is that it gives too much this time around. Clocking in at over two hours, there are long stretches of the film that don’t add much to the plot and were seemingly put in to pad its run time. If it was going to be that long, they could have used the time to better bridge the gap between films given that there are some important characters who are barely mentioned or hand waved in passing. Lastly, the epilogue feels unearned, forcing an excuse to develop a sequel as opposed to showing us why it’s needed. Well.. aside from the obvious need to turn everything into a cinematic universe these days, but that will be a discussion for another time.
With that said, Bad Boys For Life is a pleasant surprise that will surely please both fans of the prequels or action loving audiences who want to turn their brain off for a few hours. Lawrence and Smith steal the show once again, proving why they were both considered box office superstars of the 90’s while the new elements built around them only added to the film. With a deeper than expected plot, some strong twists and more action than we could handle, (especially in 4DX), the third Bad Boys has the distinction of being the first big surprise of 2020.
Final score: 4/5
