Film: Bad Boys For Life

GENRE: Action Comedy

RATING: R for lots of violence and language
RUNTIME: 2 hours and 3 minutes

STARRING: Will Smith (Men in Black, Independence Day, Bright)

Martin Lawrence (Big Momma’s House); Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix)

DIRECTORS: Adil & Bilall (Black, Gangsta)

WRITERS: Chris Bremner (newcomer); Joe Carnahan (The A-Team)

Peter Craig (The Town, Mockingjay Part One and Two)

PLOT: There’s a hit on Mike while Marcus contemplates retirement.  

FULL DISCLOSURE: I enjoyed the first two movies. Fun stuff.  

STORY STUFF: I actually found myself enjoying this installment over the second one. Not surprisingly, the storyline follows the same beats as the other ones. High action start. Check. Mike and Marcus argue about their life goals. Check. I was going to list the rest but don’t want to spoil the film for others. I’ll just say this third chapter is a lot of fun.

ACTING STUFF: Smith and Lawrence have incredible chemistry. They have not missed a beat. Both get plenty of chances to shine in this film. I also got over Lawrence’s pudginess pretty quickly (as compared to Todd in El Camino). I was happy that Pantoliano got more to do this time around instead of just yelling at Mike for killing people. The new characters from Miami’s AMMO squad also did well. I was surprised to see Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical) in this action role but she pulled it off fine. I found the villains not really memorable which is a shame considering their secret.

ARTISTIC STUFF: The director’s obviously read the Michael Bay book of blockbusters. Despite the lack of Bay in the director’s chair (he does make a quick cameo), the film looks incredibly Bay-ish from its iconic slow rise camera arc to the plane flying over the Miami sign. Add in the slick music, the trendy clubs, the shot up building filled with green tones and flames and you got practically a carbon copy Michael Bay film. I’m fine with it as it brings back the nostalgia of the first two. Bring on the fourth.

VERDICT: Four stars out of five

SEE IT IF: You’ve seen Bad Boys and want more.

UPCOMING REVIEWS: The Gentlemen