Bad Boys: Ride or Die

This year I rewatched all three Bad Boys films and had a fun time with them all, even if that second one is a little bloated. The first two came from a young Michael Bay and then directing responsibilities went to Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah who found success with Bad Boys for Life in 2020. So 2024 came around and, like with many of the big budgeted films this, there was a another sequel in the shape of Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

The story this time sees Mike and Marcus having to defend the name of their late captain who is being accused of working for the cartel and so they find themselves having to work outside the system, and clear Captain Howard's name. 

I enjoyed the third film and went into this expecting more of the same but found this to be even more enjoyable with plenty of great comedic moments thanks to the two leads being on fine form and the action is also very inventive and never got stale unlike that second film. It's also visually eye-popping with lots of gorgeous shots of Miami and the directing duo know how to handle drama when it matters keeping the pacing nice and fluid in what is the shortest of all the Bad Boys films so far. 

If I had to pick a criticism, it's just the main villain is so forgettable and generic. This story tries to raise the stakes but quite often I found myself forgetting what their goal even was and it all feels neatly swept under the rug come the action climax to avoid getting in the way of the spectacle. Thankfully though we do have the return of Jacob Scipio as Will Smith's son who keeps some of the stakes in that climax exciting. But I don't want to seem harsh as this is still such a fun and enjoyable ride as we get more of Smith and Martin Lawrence who are great together. 

Bad Boys: Ride or Die will be perfect entertainment for fans of the franchise and its lean running time will make this easy for newcomers. The villain is its one weak spot in an otherwise highly enjoyable film which I have no doubt will lead on to a fifth. Will Marcus ever retire? Hopefully not any time soon.