Full disclosure, I tried my best to have fun with this one given my aversion to copaganda. In the past, I’ve been accused of not being able to “just have fun” with movies like these. Can you imagine? I’m the most fun person you know.
Synopsis: The deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is discovered to be linked to the Mexican cartel. Obviously, he has been framed since in this fictional Miami there are such things as “good cops”. Anyway, the infamous cop duo, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) vow to clear his name.
If that synopsis doesn’t interest you, then you’re in luck because the story doesn’t matter at all. The only part of the story that elevates the movie’s entertainment factor is that Marcus has a near death experience (a semi-recycled trope from the last installment) in a sequence reminiscent of the Ancestral Plane scene from Black Panther. He wakes up with a new lease on life. He tells Mike about a premonition he had and shares with him that they are soulmates connected throughout multiple life-times. Marcus also wakes up believing he cannot die. All of this allows for funnier dialogue and leads the duo into some comedic action-based skits.
But basically, the overall success of Bad Boys: Ride or Die hinges on three things. The first being the relentless swirling and whirling and swooping camera movements. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are back to direct this installment and they follow a very recognizable Michael Bay template which fans should find comfort in.
The second being the score, which at this point if you are buying a ticket to the fourth chapter of the Bad Boys franchise, you probably enjoy and don’t find repetitive at all.
And lastly (and most importantly) if you enjoy seeing Smith and Lawrence do their buddy cop routine, then you’ll be into this movie. Period. Their chemistry continues to be undeniable. Smith as the shoot first, ask questions later cop and Lawrence as his wisecracking comic relief partner, just works. And I did laugh more than I imagined I would.
With a cast that includes Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul), the female talent is disappointingly wasted here. And most of the action sequences translate on-screen as a bit old fashioned. That being said, I doubt people that came to see the new Bad Boys are thirsting for something modern, innovative, or even ramped up.
Final Thought: With a nearly two-hour runtime, the back and forth between Marcus and Mike is what kept me engaged throughout. As I previously mentioned, I laughed a good amount. But as Bad Boys: Ride or Die nears its climax and audiences are forced to focus almost entirely on a story they undoubtedly discarded around twenty minutes in, it’s easy to see this movie for what it is; an episodic Bad Boys movie without the twists, story development or character development that made Bad Boys for Life much more watchable.
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