Bad Boys for Life

I never thought I would say this...but I wish Michael Bay had directed this. Maybe the earlier entries hold something dear to his heart and he wouldn't have allowed this to go off the rails.

The biggest casualty is the riffing between the Lawrence and Smith, which practically rips the soul right out of the franchise. The laughs from the first two movies came from the strong chemistry between the two leads and how they could argue in the middle of gun fights, car chases, etc. Here they just sound like an old married couple who have grown tired of each other.

The other casualty is the action scenes. The great Sam Peckinpah once said of the violence in his films that he wanted the audience to feel the impact of getting shot. Modern day use of CGI and such does the exact opposite. It feels more like you're watching somebody else play a video game. While some praise the visuals, I criticize its effect of pushing the viewer further away rather than drawing them in.

This could have been like Lethal Weapon IV and had some fun with its theme of the loose cannon dealing with aging. Instead its more like Beverly Hills Cop III and becomes a sad entry in an otherwise solid franchise.

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence steal the show with other talented actors and some eye candy along the way with good budget action. I cant give away too much but this movie was great and lived up to the hype of Bad Boys 1 and 2 respectively.

Marcus doesn't really have a role in the film, he continuously goes on about god. The supporting cast have no personality. The brilliant relationship between Mike and Marcus (that made the first 2 films so unique) is non existent. Should have been left alone and just left it with the original 2 films!

You know the drill. Sony arranged a board meeting:

• Time to milk some more old franchises. Ok, what do we got?
• Bad Boys?
• Got it. Ok, do we have a generic reboot script?
• We have this old one from Lethal Weapon 4? Grandchildren, retirement, you know.
• 4? Well, ok, whatever. Don't forget to do that reboot thingy, write in what is popular right now?
• Like what?
• Tech, drones, tHe InTeRnEt...why are you asking me?
• Done.
• Ah, yeah, write a couple of scenes to shill our phones and other merch, Windows tablets, you know.
• Done.

I mean, I don't have to tell you, you know what it is. Another Sony "masterpiece" with a generic script based on a revenge plot. The humor was cringe-worthy, the action wasn't even that good (and poorly shot), the whole film looks like a rap video. The story makes zero sense and the ending is incredibly stupid and anticlimactic.

Thanks for Michael Bay cameo though, and I guess the credit scene had Jerry Bruckheimer in it for some reason? Probably an inside joke.

I never thought I'd say this, but damn I miss 90ties Michael Bay. If you have to milk these franchises, at least give him the directing spot so I can enjoy his slow-mo, non-CGI explosions, women objectification and American flags.

This was a disappointing movie all around. The action, jokes, and even chemistry between Martin and Will felt forced as if they were going through the motions. The director seemed like he was trying to be Michael Bay but couldn't quite make it. Marcus was even more of a vagina (censored it) than usual and gets less action than ever before. The ride together mantra that seems constantly repeated throughout the film made it feel like I was watching a boring version of a Fast and Furious movie. Make no mistake I love the Bad Boys franchise. But this film is a weak watered-down version of Bad Boys. If they do make a part 4 which they are alluding to I certainly hope they make it better than this one.