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
Comments
Post a Comment