Kayla Harrington
Sony Pictures
Bad Boys: Ride or Die sees the run of two of Miami’s finest police officers as Martin Lawrence and Will Smith slip back into their iconic action hero roles.
After four years of waiting, Bad Boys fans will soon be able to watch the fourth outing of the franchise where the stakes have never been higher.
Though Lawrence and Smith’s characters are always on the right side of the law, Bad Boys: Ride or Die will put them under a microscope going from heroes to America’s most wanted men.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die may not be the best action movie of all time, but it’s the perfect return for one of Hollywood’s funniest duos and demonstrates why the franchise’s popularity is still going strong.
Return to form without skipping a beat
Bad Boys: Ride or Die wastes zero time reminding fans why Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) and Mike Lowrey (Smith) are one of the funniest duos in Hollywood as the first five minutes of the movie are dedicated to a series of hilarious shenanigans only they would get into.
The movie is an almost perfect blend of funny quips and hardcore action, so even the most casual Bad Boys fans will be right at home as it feels like no time has passed since Bad Boys 3 dropped in theaters in 2020.
Though the movie did a great job making audiences laugh, a few of the jokes fell flat or lessened the darker tone of the rest of the movie, which could take someone off the experience.
While the franchise’s dedication to keeping things on the lighter side so the action can truly pack a punch is admirable, sometimes they do go a bit overboard with it.
However, on the opposite side of the coin, Bad Boys: Ride or Die steps seamlessly into its shoes of being one of the most brutal action franchises still around. Bad Boys for Life allowed their action movie crown to slip a little bit, but its successor has no trouble picking it back up.
Franchise director Jerry Bruckheimer has never shied away from showing realistic, raw action scenes in these movies as the various gunfights in Bad Boys II showed us, but he has raised the action stakes for the fourth outing and it absolutely pays off.
Related:
Bad Boys 4: Release date, cast, plot & trailer
Nostalgia done right
Shockingly, Bad Boys: Ride or Die is a great example of how a long-running franchise can utilize their well-known characters without the movie feeling too pandering or bloated.
Every character from other movies was used in a way that furthered the plot along, so no one felt like they were dragging the story down.
The stand-outs of this nostalgia crew are AMMO workers Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Dorn (Alexander Ludwig), head of the Miami Police unit and Mike’s ex-girlfriend Rita Secada (Paola Núñez), and Mike’s estranged son Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio).
Each of these characters, along with other familiar faces, never overstayed their welcome and actively worked with the main duo to solve the overall issue in the movie, so you almost didn’t want these characters to leave the screen.
The movie’s use of nostalgia even extended to the overall plot of the movie, which allowed past movies’s events to be tied into the main plot line.
In a time when audiences get tired of seeing old characters come back for no reason, Bad Boys 4 sidestepped that faux pas with ease.
A little blood never hurt anyone
The first two Bad Boys movies were filmed in a way that made them look very gritty and real but, thanks to Bad Boys 4’s higher budget, Bruckheimer and his team were able to make a movie that looks extremely sleek and polished.
However, to make up for the polished aesthetics, the director decided to go on all in on showing some of the most intense and bloody action scenes this franchise has ever seen.
There were more than a few scenes (especially one set in a prison) that had me squirming in my seat because the fighting was extremely brutal. However, though it was hard to watch, you don’t want to look away from these scenes because the creativity and ingenuity they showcase is very impressive.
Sony Pictures
While all the movies in the franchise are rated R, it feels especially needed in this case as most of these sequences show some sort of blood or bone breaking that will make you feel queasy if it’s not something you typically watch.
The movie’s stance on violence may be turned up to the max, but it doesn’t feel out of place at any time. In fact, there were more than a few moments where the violent sequences enhanced what was going on because it left audiences wondering if certain characters were going to make it to the end.
Bruckheimer’s decision to double down on the violent nature of the movie was the right one to make as it allowed Bad Boys: Ride or Die to build upon its brutal roots in a way that felt very natural.
It’s all about the family
The best thing about Bad Boys 4 was how serious both the stories and the characters took the concept of what being a family is all about.
Bad Boys as a franchise started 31 years ago with the first movie coming out in 1995 and, since then, Lawrence and Smith have shown such a dedication to these roles.
The heart of Bad Boys: Ride or Die focused on the best part of all four of these movies: the unwavering brotherhood of Marcus and Mike.
Sony Pictures
Up until this movie, the duo have had to deal with tension in their relationship due to ongoing disagreements, so it was refreshing to see that they did not have to deal with that issue at all as they were nothing but loving and supportive to one another while dealing with the deadliest challenge ever put at their feet.
While Marcus and Mike may use a lot of humor to cover their true emotions, at the end of the day, they ride together and they’ll die together because they’re bad boys for life.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die review score: 4/5
Putting aside a few comedy missteps, Bad Boys 4 was the perfect vehicle to get Lawrence and Smith back into the saddle as the comedy action stars fans want them to be.
The movie proved once again why it can’t be beat in the arena of blending comedy and action while also delivering some of the most tear-inducing moments in the franchise.
While Bad Boys 4 does leave the door open for a potential sequel, if this is the last movie audiences get from this franchise, it’s more than a worthy sendoff.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die hits theaters on June 7. In the meantime, check out the new movies and TV shows streaming this month, or dive into all the new true crime documentaries around right now. If that’s not enough, you can find out what’s in store this year for K-dramas coming to Netflix.