BAD BOYS FOR LIFE – Review

Michael Bay has a brief cameo in BAD BOYS FOR LIFE but the chaotic filmmaker is no longer behind the wheel. The co-directors for the 16-year delayed third act of the action franchise, billed as Adil and Bilaii (Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah) rehash Bay’s noisy high concept antics but focus more on plot and character than one might expect. Yes, there’s foul language and loads of state-of-the-art Miami car chases and gunfights (several involving helicopters), but BAD BOYS FOR LIFE seems less vulgar and less dependent on slow motion, jokey interplay and catchphrases than its Bay-helmed predecessors (whose padded out entries were all padding all the time). BAD BOYS FOR LIFE is surprisingly fun stuff — crackling, playfully escapist summer fare dumped into the low-expectations market of mid-January.

In BAD BOYS FOR LIFE, the past conviction of an old flame (and South American drug cartel leader… and possible witch) Isabel (Kate del Castillo) comes back to haunt longtime Miami cop Mike (Will Smith) in a big way after she breaks out and orders her son Armando (Jacob Scipio) to begin whacking everyone involved with her case. When “Bulletproof Mike” is shot by a motorcycle-riding Armando, it tests the “for life” part of the maxim Mike has had with his long-time partner Marcus (Martin Lawrence). While Marcus wants to retire from the dangers of law enforcement and settle into his new role as grandpa, Mike seeks revenge for the shooting that left him near death. The duo are reluctantly teamed up with a squad of tech-savvy younger cops known as AMMO that include Vanessa Hudgens (third-billed but underused), Alexander Ludwig and Charles Melton, and led by Paola Nuñez, a potential new love interest for Mike.

BAD BOYS FOR LIFE is formula. There are plenty of explosions out of nowhere and overindulgent action sequences that define this series. But it works best with the dialog and slapstick bits by Smith and especially Lawrence (after a long big-screen hiatus) who gives a genuinely world-weary comic performance. His conversations with God are played for laughs but seem genuine. There’s still the occasional shout of “Ah, Hell No!” and “Sh*t just got real!” as Smith and Lawrence recapture and improve upon the chemistry they displayed early in the series, at times even making way for character development, domestic warmth, and depth. Joe Pantoliano’s droll shtick as the boy’s excitable Captain gooses the proceedings, Kate del Castillo makes a devilishly exotic villain, and Jacob Scipio scores as her hair-trigger son. Screenwriters Chris Bremner, Peter Craig, and Joe Carnahan present a story that builds and holds interest. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE has some splattery, R-rated violence which make it more watchable and adult than something like HOBBS AND SHAW and its 123 minute never seem overlong. If you don’t hold too high of expectations, you should have a good time with BAD BOYS FOR LIFE.

3 of 4 Stars