Bad Boys: Ride or Die
By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Explosive violence, nonstop swearing in 4th buddy-cop film.
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die
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Based on 13 parent reviews
Movie
What's the Story?
In BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) finally decides to tie the knot with Christine (Melanie Liburd). While dancing at their wedding, Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) has a heart attack and lands in the hospital. When he wakes up, he has a new lease on life; he's no longer afraid. Meanwhile, an obscene amount of money has been transferred to an account in the name of Mike and Marcus' late captain (Joe Pantoliano), making it look as if the captain was crooked and in cahoots with drug cartels. The only person who can identify the culprit is Mike's son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), who's incarcerated. Mike arranges to have Armando transferred to a safe location so that he can make the ID, but their helicopter is sabotaged, and Mike and Marcus are framed. Suddenly, Mike, Marcus, and Armando find themselves on the run from the law, with no one to trust.
Is It Any Good?
This increasingly road-weary series tries to limp into more "mature" territory with its characters and their relationships, but it has all the same old shoot-outs, explosions, and dumb humor. Indeed, Bad Boys: Ride or Die seems to be trying to follow in the tire tracks of the Fast and Furious series with its obsession with "family," but it's so half-baked and mismatched that it makes that series look like high cinema in comparison. Not to mention that the so-called character developments here go nowhere. Marcus learns to conquer his fears, and Mike learns to overcome his panic attacks (via a slap on the face), but in the long run these things don't contribute anything to the story.
Co-directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (known as "Adil & Bilall") attack the material at full speed, swirling and swinging their cameras every which way and cutting without mercy. In an early scene, Marcus looks at his watch, and the filmmakers cut to a shot of Marcus' face from the point of view of the watch. The story itself is silly and often predictable, all the way to the third-act showdown at an "abandoned amusement park," which could have provided some fun visuals but doesn't. (Even the promise of a huge albino alligator named "Duke" disappoints.) Smith and Lawrence still have an uneasy camaraderie—like an even more lowbrow Abbott and Costello—that largely consists of Mike ordering Marcus around and both men cutting each other down. Sometimes it feels like they click, and other times it feels as if they're just tired and want to be somewhere else. Bad Boys: Ride or Die ought to come with a third option: "avoid."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Bad Boys: Ride or Die's violence. Is it designed to thrill or shock? How did the filmmakers achieve this effect? What's the impact of media violence on kids?
How does the theme of family (or bonds of friendship) run through this series? What are the positives and negatives of these relationships?
Do you consider these cop characters role models? Why, or why not?
Did you notice positive diverse representations in the movie? What about stereotypes?
Movie Details
- In theaters: June 7, 2024
- On DVD or streaming: July 23, 2024
- Cast: Will Smith , Martin Lawrence , Vanessa Hudgens
- Director: Adil & Bilall
- Inclusion Information: Black actors, Female actors, Asian actors
- Studio: Sony Pictures Releasing
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- Run time: 115 minutes
- MPAA rating: R
- MPAA explanation: strong violence, language throughout and some sexual references
- Last updated: July 23, 2024
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