Bad Boys for Life

Michael Bay's 1995 action hit, Bad Boys, gave the buddy cop formula a new lease of life and launched Will Smith's blockbuster career that would dominate screens for the rest of the decade. Then came a sequel from Bay again in 2003 with Smith and Martin Lawrence that was even bigger and more bombastic than the original. It arguably went too far and was way too long but left fans wanting more and talks over a third film ran for many years until finally in 2020 we had Bad Boys for Life. Now directed by Adil & Bilall, as the two directors are known, could this take the best elements of the previous two films as the action stars see their characters towards the ends of their career in the Miami police force? 

The third film sees Lawrence's Marcus Miles Burnett welcome in his first grandchild into the family giving him a reason to consider retirement, much to Mike Lowrey's (Smith) dismay. Things suddenly change rapidly when an attempt is made on Lowrey's life in an act of revenge from a case many years ago forcing the two Bad Boys to come back together again and find the person behind it all. 

Bad Boys for Life packs all of the action, sunny locations and colourful visuals expected from a Michael Bay film but is thankfully done so with a degree of restraint the director would often overlook, particularly as seen in his messy Netflix action flick, 6 Underground. We get a few familiar tropes like the 360 slow-motion camera pan around the two leads but without the threat of nausea Bad Boys II had in spades. Smith and Lawrence are also both on fine form together handling both the dramatic beats and the very entertaining moments of comedy perfectly. 

The only problems come with a few odd choices to do a Mission: Impossible and add a new team of characters who are setup to become regulars in the confirmed fourth film. Their performances are all fun and give Smith/Lawrence new faces to play-off against but none of that side of the cast are given the same quality of material to keep the laughs coming. It's a minor quibble as the rest of the film is a fun return to the buddy cop action flick formula that had been left stagnant for a while following a number of imitators that failed to match the chemistry Smith and Lawrence can provide. 

Adil & Bilall have made a film that doesn't quite pack the action-packed highs of what a Michael Bay in his prime could do but Bad Boys for Life is a very entertaining film that is easy on the eyes and brings back Smith and Lawrence with material worthy of their talents. It's not the most memorable for sure but it succeeds where the sequel faltered and is a worthy follow-up to the original.