Summary
After a quarter of a century of riding together and dying together, the third entry in the series is both a throwback and a possible hint at a future direction.
It’s been 17 years since Bad Boys 2, a Michael Bay joint that has been equal parts revered, parodied and imitated for blockbuster action fans. While Bay has since found his own groove in the controlled chaos of 6 Underground and the Transformers series, the current wave of nostalgia porn ensures that no franchise is ever left behind.
Following the prison escape of fierce mob figure Isabel (Kate del Castillo), she and her son Armando (Jacob Scipio) begin to enact revenge on the law folk who brought them down years ago. One of those people is Detective Michael “Mike” Lowrey (Will Smith), who is at a crossroads as his partner Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) prepares to retire. When tragedy strikes, the duo team up with an elite squad let by Mike’s ex Rita (Paola Núñez) to go out for one last ride.
BAD BOYS FOR LIFE is straight-up fun, and there’s no question that directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have been inspired by the look and feel of Bay and cinematographer Amir Mokri’s previous entry. In practical terms, this means there’s a bit of a been-there-done-that to some of the hijinks, from the rad opening car chase, wife jokes, ‘aw hell nos’ and Bay’s trademarked 360 slow-mo shot.
Yet Robrecht Heyvaert’s (Torpedo, Lukas) photography is quite slick, making full use of that reported US $90 million budget. In the quieter moments, of which there are very few, the aerial shots of Miami or a pink sky give the film a transient neon glow. The action is a bit more of a mixed bag: a warehouse shootout in the second act is chaotic and hard to follow, yet the fiery finale aims for something grander.
The addition of a bigger cast of bad ‘boys’ also helps mix things up a bit. If anything, there’s almost too many solid character types there, and even the likes of Vanessa Hudgens gets a bit lost in a sea of quippy cops. Alexander Ludwig is a standout as a gentle giant with a heart of nerd, and I’d be perfectly happy to see him to lead a spin-off. So, while character isn’t a focus, when at least one major shock comes for a beloved character, even the baddest boys in the audience may get a little choked up.
As the trilogy closes out with its new ‘family,’ it seems as though the Bad Boys series has left itself the option of building a Fast and the Furious franchise if they want to. All the component pieces are there with or with or without Smith and Lawrence, and if last year’s Hobbs & Shaw taught us anything, no star is bigger than the spin-off potential.
2020 | US | DIRECTOR: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah | WRITERS: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, Joe Carnahan| CAST: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Núñez, Kate del Castillo, Nicky Jam, Joe Pantoliano | DISTRIBUTOR: Sony Pictures Releasing (AUS)| RUNNING TIME: 124 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 16 January 2020 (AUS)
