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Bad Boys for Life (2020)


Directed by Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah
Starring Will Smith & Martin Lawrence
January. A third movie years after its predecessors. Washed up former box-office darlings. Virtually unknown directors.
In theory, the combination of these elements would pre-emptively put a film in its grave. With the latest instalment in the Bad Boys franchise however, Sony has beaten the odds with a sure-fire crowd pleaser even if it suffers from mediocrity along the way.
The film sees the return of the titular Bad Boys; still detectives on the Miami streets despite surpassing 50. After the birth of his grandchild, Marcus (Martin Lawrence) feels it is time to retire and stop his violent ways. This causes strife with his partner Mike (Will Smith) who wants to live by the ‘ride together, die together’ ethos for life. But when a new assassin comes on the scene, the two must put aside their differences and come together to stop crime in Florida once again.
Straight away, the most notable difference in this film compared to its predecessors is the lack of original director Michael Bay. Despite arguments, which have weight, that Bay’s style has a headache inducing effect, the Bad Boys movies have always worked somewhat well with his fast paced choppy editing. This style gave a flair to the cocaine binge that is Bad Boys 2, an underrated gem of hardcore machismo fun. Bad Boys for Life trades Bay for two newer directors and the result is a competent, if not mediocre, action film. The film is directed fine for the most part with some interestingly choreographed action sequences within the finale. The sun-soaked Miami returns but, much like the old protagonists, feels tired in bland cinematography.
As for Smith and Lawrence themselves, the duo return in full force with quippy dialogue and comedy which, for the most part, hits effectively. Coming off a terrible decade for the both of them, including many career lows, its nice to see the two in a role that comes naturally to their strengths as action stars. The lead characters are clearly the glue of the franchise as the sequences in which they are not together drag the film into checking the time territory. Another great return is Joe Pantoliano as the stressed-out stereotypical captain character who gets a multitude of laughs every time he is on screen. The new characters are mostly young 20-somethings who play foil to the aging Bad Boys with Paolo Nunez playing lead girl who is just there to be on Will Smith’s arm; i.e the lead actress of all of these films. The villains are generic revenge goons for the most part but provide a decent twist in the latter half of the film.
The meat of the film comes from Hollywood’s latest trend of aging action stars. Much like last year’s Rambo: Last Blood, Bad Boys for Life explores what happens when the star gets too old. Here is where trading off Bay for a more subdued approach might have worked in the film’s favour as, even though it is quite bland, the directorial style reinforces the ideas of aging and mellowing out in the twilight years of life. Trading the constant pulsating action of the previous sequels for a few fun sequences allows the Bad Boys to have a reflective moment with each other and gives the story slight emotional weight.
In a year that is sure to be inundated with franchise fatigue, it is nice to see a series not take itself too seriously and allow the audience to breath. Bad Boys for Life is a worthwhile film for an off month and is sure to please long-time fans with a solid conclusion despite the inevitable sequel.
6/10

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