Normally, movie sequels that come out long past the date that anybody asked for it never end well for the film and its audience, especially when released in January. The same cannot be said for Bad Boys for Life which is a welcome throwback to a dying era of action films. 25 Years since the first film and 17 years since the second, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are back as the ultimate loud and charismatic buddy cop duo.
Our duo is obviously much older than they were back in 2003 and the film reflects the change of pace in story and direction. Mike Lowrey and Marcus Bennett are still all-star cops but Marcus finds himself a grandfather and is looking for greener pastures. Mike, on the other hand, is still addicted to the high life, that is until an assassin nearly takes him out. During recovery, Mike discovers that his past is coming back to haunt him and his bad decisions are coming back to collect a debt.
I have to say that I miss Michael Bay’s balls to the wall direction seeing how the Bad Boys franchise was a perfect outlet for his over the top action style but with two leads in their 50s, they simply can’t be expected to keep the pace they established 25 years ago. The film introduces an operations team who there to relieve the action workload from our leads, however, the supporting cast doesn’t have much chemistry to speak of. That’s where Smith and Lawrence come together. The film focuses on the importance of family and looking towards the future. The element of growing up gives humanity to a franchise that as long lacked it.
With low expectations, Bad Boys for Life is one of the better Hollywood cash grabs you are going to get in 2020.
3/5
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