Bad Boys: Ride Or Die

This review may contain spoilers!

 

Bad Boys: Ride Or Die marks the fourth film in the Bad Boys franchise and sees our two heroes embroiled in a posthumous corruption case targeting the late Captain Howard. Along this fast moving action sequel, we see Marcus come face to face with his own mortality and Mike attempts to reconnect with his long-lost son, Armando.

 

The thing with action comedies is that these days there are so many of them, a lot of these blockbusters follow the same pattern or formula to find that comfortable sweet spot for audiences. Even down to how exactly the movie delivers jokes can become predictable. My biggest shock and the greatest strength of this particular entry is just how genuinely hilarious it is. The sub-plot that kicks this movie off around Marcus nearly dying of a heart attack, surviving and then having a sort of spiritual awakening that makes him feel unkillable is so stupid and yet somehow it is a slam dunk. Marcus has some of the most insane, incomprehensible and unpredictable scenes and dialogue exchanges within this film; it might be the funniest these films have ever been. While I found the more dramatic main storyline to be burdened with flaws, I do have to commend the feeling of danger pervasive in action sequences. There is a real mounting sense of the protagonists genuinely getting in over their heads in this that does a good job of upping the stakes.

The special effects in this are some of the nicer effects in a Bad Boys film, including a neat aircraft crash sequence twice and a well-designed albino alligator. There was also a phenomenal score from Lorne Balfe who transported us to this modern, cool setting that turns perilous at any sudden moment. The soundtrack also deserves a shout-out for keeping us grounded in some neat hip hop or hilarious nods to Black hits in comedic scenes.

 

Will Smith, who played Mike Lowery, has always served well as a leading man in an action flick; Smith's 'tough guy' who can't be rocked persona in this is as fun as it has ever been. Paola Núñez, who played Rita, has a severe hard edge that makes her an uncompromising woman in power; Núñez matches the macho energy of Smith well and knows exactly how to assert her own dominance in a scene. Tasha Smith, who played Theresa, has some solid chemistry with Lawrence as the central married couple of the film; she plays sincere affection even when he's quite erratic in a scene which evens things out nicely. Dennis Greene, who played Reggie, is quite a surprise as the mystery badass of the film; Greene has a deadpan delivery that leads to some excellent comedy.

However, the best performance came from Martin Lawrence, who played Marcus Burnett. This is a role that has always been the centre player for the humour in this action franchise. Yet I don't feel like he has ever run quite this wildly with it. Lawrence howls through unhinged reams of dialogue, with such an unpredictable manner that you can't help but find yourself in stitches. This is a role that makes no sense at times, comes off as obscene in others, is definitely certifiably insane and looked like a blast to play. Lawrence really got to cut loose here, and I'm quite glad because he makes it. Everything that really lands home with this film is Martin Lawrence playing Marcus Burnett the best he ever has.

Bad Boys has never really been a great action franchise, with over the top storylines, idiotic humour and an uninspired sense of direction. This time around, the lacking action storyline has minimal effort poured into it. Hedging some heavy bets on the dead carcass of a fan-favourite character (literally) and leaving anything else to an admittedly dull antagonist. The film tries to push storylines that feel outdated or poorly conceived; moments like the DA's involvement, Mike's anxiety or most notably the poor continuation of the Armando character. Bad Boys can't really escape being a flashy show-off fest, but there's no innovation and what would have been cool in the early 2000s doesn't work the same magic any more.

The worst part about this film might just be how ugly it looks, this thing is shot terribly and it becomes a not insignificant eyesore. This movie pushes into the worst extreme close-ups or point of view shots I have ever seen. There are multiple sequences where the camera tries to make the gunfights look like a shooter video game, a hideous choice that shows just because you attempt to be creative doesn't mean it works for your big budget film. The film overall feels like a fancy music video, all glamorous shots and quick fire visual montages before dumping us into garish looking scenes. Michael Bay might have passed the torch, but he neglected to mention the torch is burned down to the wick. 

Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig, who played Kelly and Dorn respectively, felt like extra baggage hanging around from the last sequel; neither of these performers served much purpose than to pad out the action sequences in the final act. Eric Dane, who played McGrath, is really giving a pretty forgettable villain performance; Dane can deliver a cold line, but he feels like every mercenary leader bad guy we've had over the past fifty years of cinema. Ioan Gruffudd, who played Lockwood, feels very promising at first but seems a little wasted here overall; the same sleazy bad guy twist for him feels a bit tired. Jacob Scipio, who played Armando, couldn't be less like Will Smith's kid if he tried; Scipio feels lost as to his part in all this, which is fair enough because this is a role that gets poorly utilised throughout. Melanie Liburd, who played Christine, is just here to be Smith's onscreen love interest; Liburd gets no opportunity to really define her character at all. Rhea Seehorn, who played Judy, is this severe and overly intense role that just doesn't serve the film well; her little vendetta sub-plot was an extra thing too many. Tiffany Haddish, who played Tabitha, is just raunchy and seedy in this; it's not a funny cameo or a role that really serves much purpose at all. Joe Pantoliano, who played Captain Howard, is a role that should've just stayed dead(er); Pantoliano's weird spiritual version of himself feels like quite a forced element. John Salley, who played Fletcher, is a novelty call back role that doesn't land; Salley's comedic appearance isn't all that funny beyond the one-sided work Lawrence is putting in. Bianca Bethune, who played Megan, is the character within the Burnett family who feels forgotten about; she is placed in this film for continuity more than anything else. Quinn Hemphill, who played Callie, is really in this to give the plot a young hostage to save; her role in the Armando/Pantoliano vendetta arc is fairly predictable and an easy performance. Jason Davis, who played Grice, is quite an easy to peg red herring role; he's not a likeable role and is another character overstuffing a crowded blockbuster.

Despite being the funniest Bad Boys to date, there's still nothing really about this that makes it good as a story. I would give Bad Boys: Ride Or Die a 4.5/10.