2024   Sony pictures

Rated:  R

Length:  1 hr 55min

Action ~ Comedy

Directed by:  Adil & Bilall

Starring:  Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Joe Pantoliano, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio, John Salley, and DJ Khaled.

“I don’t know how high up this shit goes, but don’t trust anybody.”

Will Smith and Martin Lawrence return in the fourth installment of the Bad Boys franchise which is comprised of:

1. BAD BOYS   1995
2. BAD BOYS II   2003
3. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE  2020
4. BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE  2024

Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) are Miami Police Detectives and longtime partners. In this episode of the franchise Mike is marrying his therapist of four years and Marcus suffers a heart attack during the wedding reception. During his out of body experience he encounters his dead ex police Captain boss Captain Howard. Captain Howard tells Mike it’s not his time and Mike comes to back in the hospital where Mike is holding vigil over him.

They discover through the news that their ex boss Captain Howard is being accused of being corrupt and tied with the drug cartels. Mike and Marcus refuse to believe the news and set out to uncover the truth and prove his innocence. What follows is a hilarious action-packed thrill ride through the underworld of Miami with tons of action and shootout scenes. I mean SHOOTOUT scenes! In some scenes there is so much firepower going on you can’t even tell who is shooting at who.

I don’t really remember Bad Boys or Bad Boys II. It seems familiar to me but that was a long time ago and I don’t really recall the specific stories. I haven’t seen bad Boys For Life. So I went into this judging it on it’s own merits. I did go into it with a slightly jaded view of Will Smith. After the infamous slap heard around the world, I made it a point to silently boycott him and not watch anything he was in. And it took me awhile as I watched to not judge him in that light.

From the beginning it felt like another nostalgic revamp of a movie that was popular decades ago. Like……Beverly Hills Cop comes to mind. It just felt rehashed and like it was trying to capitalize on the past because apparently good fresh ideas are in short supply. You know, otherwise why did we wait decades to put out a sequel. Eddie Murphy was too busy for thirty years? The plot started to remind me of Spenser Confidential, Mark Wahlberg and his partners set out to prove their Police Captain’s innocence after he is accused of being in cohorts with the drug cartels after his death. It’s a familiar storyline.

But the comedic banter started to grow on me pretty quick. And the pace of the story and the action doesn’t leave you with much time to think. Buckle up and pay attention. In the end I liked Will Smith in this, and Martin Lawrence is hilarious. I liked Armando (Jacob Scipio) the escaped convict who turns into a good guy hero at the end. The rest of the actors were all familiar faces and I liked them in their roles. The action is top notch in this movie. Non stop car chases, fires, explosions and shootouts.

So that’s a yes for me, BAD BOYS:LIVE OR DIE stands on it’s own merits, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock but…eh, that’s between them…..unless he does something stupid again…..Alright…let it go. I do love I ROBOT.

CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG!

Two Thumbs Up