Movie Review: ‘Bad Boys’ is back with a cocktail of action, emotion and comedy

The pair of brave policemen Mike Lowry (Will Smith) and Marcus Brunet (Martin Lawrence), who made a huge impact as ‘Bad Boys’ nearly three decades ago in 1995, have returned to the big screen again with ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’. This is the fourth film in the franchise after ‘Bad Boys 2’ in 2003 and ‘Bad Boys for Life’ in 2020. In the film, director duo Adil Al Arabi and Bilall Fallah have made full use of the familiar strengths of these ‘Bad Boys’, from driving at high speed on the streets of Miami to strong action, but the problem is that with the passage of time, the effect of age has started showing on these bad boys, due to which both the shine of their personality and the edge of action have been affected.

The makers themselves do not deny that their heroes have aged. Therefore, the film begins with Marcus’ heart attack at Laurie’s wedding. At the same time, Laurie gets panic attacks at many important moments. he/she feels that people close to him/her are going away from him/her forever.

The Story of ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’

Talking about the story, it takes forward the events of ‘Bad Boys for Life’ released in 2020, where after the death of Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), the drug mafia implicates him/her on charges of bribery and corruption. Mike is not ready to believe that the Captain was dishonest and he/she sets out to expose this conspiracy in his/her own way with Marcus. For this, he/she takes the help of his/her son Armando (Jacob Scipio), who is serving a sentence for the murder of the Captain, but while shifting him/her from jail, such circumstances arise that Mike and Marcus themselves become fugitives in the eyes of their security agency. Now how they reach the culprits without anyone’s help, how they foil their intentions, this will be known by watching the film.

‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Trailer

‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ Movie Review

There is nothing new in this story by Chris Brimner and Will Beall, but the friendship between Mike and Marcus, Marcus’s witty one-liners and some great action scenes make it worth watching. Be it the mid-air flight action sequence or the climax scene with crocodiles in a deserted water park, they are thrilling. The father-son emotion between Laurie and Armando has also been shown well in the film.

Talking about acting, 55-year-old Will Smith definitely looks smart in the film, but he/she does not have that sharpness. Whereas, 59-year-old Martin Lawrence entertains the audience a lot with his/her comedy, but Jacob Scipio who plays Armando in the film steals the show. Jacob looks attractive in every scene. Apart from him/her, Dennis Green is also memorable in the role of Marcus’ son-in-law Reggie.

The technical aspects of the film such as cinematography and editing are strong. Yes, the music is nothing special, but overall, fans of the ‘Bad Boys’ franchise can watch this film. But if you have not seen the third part ‘Bad Boys for Life’, then you may have difficulty understanding some of the events.

Why watch- You can watch this fourth film of the ‘Bad Boys’ franchise for Martin Lawrence’s comedy and some great action sequences.