Bad Boys: Ride or Die Reviews

From returning directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, Bad Boys: Ride or Die takes us back to South Florida with Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). Proving that a long-running franchise doesn't always suffer from burnout, scriptwriters Chris Bremner and George Gallo add Will Beall (Aquaman) to their writing team and provide a story that has some fresh takes on the old characters.At Mike's wedding, Marcus has a heart attack that results in a near-death experience. There, he encounters the deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) on the beach. He returns from his experience as a changed man, unafraid and believing that he cannot die until he fulfills a specific purpose. That purpose begins to become apparent when Captain Howard is framed for working with the drug cartels. It is now up to Mike and Marcus to break open the plot and discover who is behind the conspiracy. But they cannot do it without help, so they turn to Mike's jailed son Armando (Jacob Scipio), who used to work for the cartel. Now, all three are targets in a plot to tie them to Howard's downfall. The Bad Boys franchise has a formula that works while still introducing fresh elements. The turnabout in Lawrence's character is refreshing, as is a new component for Smith's. The latter could have used a bit more exploring since it becomes crucial toward the movie's end, but there is enough there to justify it. The chemistry between Smith and Lawrence remains strong, sometimes to the point that it overshadows the other actors. Fortunately, this is balanced well enough so as to not detract from the other various roles; most of these aren't especially memorable, either. The exceptions are Alexander Ludwig, who plays Dorn with the enthusiasm of a child, and Dennis Greene as Reggie, Marcus's stoic Marine son-in-law. The latter is a perfect straight man to the antics of the stars.As with any action film with Jerry Bruckheimer as part of the production team, there's a lot of over-the-top action, firefights, and at least a handful of explosions. The effects team did a great job of pushing the margins of believability without losing the audience. The cinematographers stepped up to the plate as well, using a somewhat continuous shot method for a couple of the shootout scenes that is exciting and keeps the audience aware of what is happening. Considering how quickly the action moves, this is quite a feat. The soundtrack has well-chosen songs, both expected and unexpected, to complement the mood of each scene. Bad Boys: Ride or Die doesn't try too hard to be new or unexpected. That said, the script does have a few surprises and brings new elements of reality to both leads. This makes the film fun, exciting, and somewhat fresh. With this and the possible expansion of Dorn, Reggie, and Armando in mind, it isn't unrealistic to anticipate a high five from the Bad Boys team.