Bad Boys for Life

Sometimes its better to be remembered for what once was. Bad Boys for Life being a case in question.

This film simply does not work. Its chief failing not the age of its key players but the fact they seem to be forever apologising, for the fact.There are men and women in their 50's in the force, so why all the lame jokes about grey hair, sagging physiques and more?

Plus the need to drag on board secondary characters, apparently to carry the action side of this flick cause the lead characters are "sooooo over the hill"? The result is a film that feels messy, that's only occasionally funny and has no central focus.

What a shame. 5/10.

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.

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.

They really need to understand what people come to watch when the movie is titled Bad boys... Not some old man remembering good old times. Not emotional philosophy. 5 minutes of action saved my mood for the night, but besides that, I am really disapointed.

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!