Bad Boys: Ride or Die review

BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE: 

FOURTH SMITH-LAWRENCE RIDE IS A SILLY, FUN TIME! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

COLUMBIA PICTURES

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die

 

            Will Smith (Independence Day, Men in Black trilogy, Aladdin (2019)) and Martin Lawrence (Life, Blue Streak, Big Momma’s trilogy) return as Miami police detectives Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the fourth installment of the Bad Boys film series dating all the way back to 1995. I pretty much gave my thoughts on the previous entries in my Bad Boys for Life review so I’ll just give a quick recap. 

            First movie, solid buddy cop action-comedy and one of Michael Bay’s best films with his signature explosive action scenes without them ever overshadowing the charm of Smith and Lawrence’s performances. Second one’s awful and is pretty much the poster child for horrible Michael Bay projects in terms of production and execution (Impressive action sequences though). 

            The third film, Bad Boys for Life in 2020 was a pleasant surprise which kicked Bay to the curb in favor of up and coming directors, Adil & Bilall (Black, Gangsta, Ms. Marvel) and gave the series some long overdue fresh blood while still retaining what worked in its predecessors. The best Bad Boys film by far and honestly could have been a satisfying sendoff for these characters…so here’s the fourth movie with Adil & Bilall back in the directors’ chairs! 

            This is my first Will Smith film I’m watching after his infamous slap at the 2022 Oscars and I will be keeping references of that to a minimum. The movie looked fine by the trailers, same stuff people enjoyed about the other Bad Boys movies with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence once again at the top of their games…that’s pretty much the movie. 

            Bad Boys: Ride or Die doesn’t aim to break new grounds in the series and instead tries to be an entertaining popcorn movie for the summer that’s still executed very well. This was a fun watch and easily the best release during Columbia Pictures’ 100^th Anniversary (Which sadly isn’t saying much because Madame Web, Ghostbusters, and Garfield were not very good) though I still say the last film is better. 

            The film follows Detective Mike Lowery (Smith) who is now married and still busting caps in criminals’ heads with his friend and partner, Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) while singing “Whatcha Gonna Do?”. But when accusations begin to surface saying their late Captain, Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano-The Matrix, The Sopranos, Memento) was tied to drug cartels, Mike and Marcus go back into action and investigate this conspiracy and prove his innocence…while also on the run. 

            The film also stars Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical trilogy, Spring Breakers, Tick, Tick… Boom!) reprising her role as AMMO weapons expert Kelly, Alexander Ludwig (Race to Witch Mountain, The Hunger Games, Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant) reprising his role as AMMO text expert Dorn, Paola Núñez (The Son, The Purge (TV series), Resident Evil (TV series)) reprising her role as AMMO leader Captain Rita Secada, Eric Dane (X-Men 3: The Last Stand, Grey’s Anatomy, Burlesque) as James McGrath, Ioan Gruffudd (102 Dalmatians, Fantastic 4 1 and 2, San Andreas) as Adam Lockwood, Jacob Scipio (Without Remorse, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Expend4bles) reprising his role as Mike’s son Armando Aretas, Melanie Liburd (Dark Matter, This Is Us, Perpetrator) as Mike’s newly wedded wife Christine, Tasha Smith (Boston Common, The Tom Show, ATL) replacing Theresa Randle as Marcus’ wife Theresa Burnett, and Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, Haunted Mansion) as Tabitha. 

            Overall, Bad Boys: Ride or Die may not be the most original or surprising entry in the Bad Boys series, but in terms of delivering an action-packed and fun time at the movies, it does its job well. This isn’t really a bad thing, but the plot is pretty standard and predictable with reveals or “twists” you can see coming a mile away and the stakes aren’t quite as high as the last movie. 

            Again, I think the film’s main goal is to deliver an entertaining ride which it certainly does because the action scenes this time around are some of the best in the series. Lots of bloody, fleshy shootouts, car chases, etc. with spinning cameras, shakiness, slow-motion, camera panning around the room while shots are being fired, and even a first-person shooting sequence which is probably the best in the film and unlike the repetitiveness of various overlong Michael Bay action sequences I was never bored during any of it because of how well the directing and editing are here. 

            The movie is also pretty funny at times with Martin Lawrence delivering some of the biggest laughs as the worrisome family man partner to the eccentric Will Smith. There’s this great running bit where he’s having problems with sweets, he’s eating too much of it, and jumps to the conclusion that he can’t die because of an incident that happens early in the film, he steals the show here and it almost makes you forget he was in Big Momma’s House. 

            The dynamic between Smith and Lawrence is as strong as ever in this film and the key aspect that keeps the series together. Their chemistry in these films works because Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s characters are polar opposites from one another with Smith being the eccentric, crazy cop armed with a gun and mouth while Lawrence as already mentioned is the gentle, vulnerable cop which leads to great comedic banter and character moments. 

            Even in a film as horrible as Bad Boys II, I can’t say they didn’t have strong chemistry in it which helped make that awful movie more watchable. It’s a similar effect as Smith and Tommy Lee Jones’ chemistry in the Men in Blackmovies where both characters are incredibly different from each other and their dynamic works flawlessly regardless of the film’s quality. 

            Bad Boys: Ride or Die is just a good time to be had at the movies even if it isn’t the best in the series. Though I can’t see anyone going into this movie and not be entertained by something about it, it’s a fun popcorn movie and Michael Bay-style throwback in the best ways. Whatcha Gonna Do?