Name: Movie Review: Bad Boys For Life
Item: Bad Boys for Life
Author: @chekohler

Hey Jesscinemafiles

It's been a while since I've been interested in seeing a movie, all of it has been pretty underwhelming with all style and no substance, and you're not going to make me part with my money to see a screening of garbage or so I like to tell myself.

Even though many times, I've been caught bu the trailer or nostalgia to go and see something that was never going to live up to the hype. I've been a massive fan of the previous 2 Bad Boys films which I strongly felt did not need a third instalment, but I decided to see it anyway.

The movie was sold out at numerous cinemas in the city, but I managed to catch the late show, you see my commitment to seeing this film? I also had to sit through 40 mins of ads before the damn thing got started and only left the cinema around 1:30 so why all the damn ads? Especially for the last show of the night, save that bullshit for the early screenings.

Buddy cop movies are a dime a dozen, Starsky and Hutch, Chips, Rush Hour, Jump Street and plenty of others but what Bad Boys did for the genre took action up to 11 and combined humour more clinically. The leads also really made the characters their own which is why they are much-loved characters and 17 years later can still fill up cinemas with a sequel.

So Martin and Will are back for one last ride as Marcus and Mike and its carnage as usual but with a little twist.

What is Bad Boys For Life about?

The movie is set in modern life; I assume 2020 with Old-school cops Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett having kicked ass in Miami PD for years Marcus is looking to retire as he becomes a grandfather. Mikes past comes back to haunt him and askes Marcus to team up to take down the vicious leader of a Miami drug cartel one last time.

The two beat cops also enlist the help of a newly created elite team called AMMO of the Miami police department who opt for stealth and tech approach which is a contrast to Mike and Marcus running and running.

Now it's up to The Bad Boys and their crew to take out the ruthless Armando Armas.

Poster for Bad Boys For Life

Poster for Bad Boys for Life - Image source: - forbes.com

What I thought of Bad Boys For Life

If the plot I mentioned above sounds stupid, you have no idea how horribly it plays out on screen; my words cannot do justice at how nonsensical it becomes as the movie progresses. It leads to questionable character decisions, and what was once super cops now seem like incompetent morons who couldn't solve a case even if is an open and shut one.

Acting

I would say Joe Pantoliano as Captain Howard is the only one who stays true to the character from the first two movies and props to him for that. I have no doubt that Will and Martin can act, and they have chemistry, but they do feel like they are going through the motions due to contractual obligations or a decent payoff.

This movie had its moments that made you laugh, but this was disappointing compared to Bad Boys II. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence show their age. They were more serious and less comical, which did not translate so well in this movie. At some points, it feels like a B grade or parody of the original characters; they are less "badass" and more "old ass".

Sorry to say this, but you peaked at Bad Boys II.

As for the new characters, they are deadpan actors who you would never remember a single characters name or why they are essential to the story.

Cinematography

Some of the shots pay homage to the original, but the scene transitions are all over the place and downright sloppy while the use of CGI in certain parts of the movie is awful. Like with the fast and furious franchise physics has gone out the window and people are capable of superhuman feats like running through pillars and jumping off large buildings without injury.

The comedy wears thin, the editing (last fight scene) is so sloppy it's hard to tell what is going on. They followed Blade 3's idea of allowing a younger "team" into the picture too (and we know how well that worked out for the Blade franchise) and the writing is downright lazy and laughable (not in a good way). When you get to "the" reveal, you WILL roll your eyes.

The score also does nothing for the film, which is a shame because the score for the first two set the tone for the film and the sound effects are obscenely loud for some reason.

Character development

There is none unless you say they getting older is character development nothing changes. They're the same characters from the first two movies and end the same way just their reactions are now a bit more over the top than usual.

The movie also has the audacity to try and build a franchise with a new team of unrelatable cardboard cut out characters I couldn't care two shits about and is going to try its best to milk it like they're doing with the Fast and The Furious who now have zero to do with the original characters or story.

Trailer for Bad Boys for Life

My rating for Bad boys for life

This movie has no substance and ruins the legacy of the first two, I am ashamed even to say this, but it has been set up for a fourth which I will give a miss for I am sure it will all be downhill for this IP. They can take Men in Black, Star Wars, Fast and Furious and the like down with them.

It's been diluted to appeal to as many people as possible, its as if the new Hollywood systematically money balls movie scripts like

Generic script
Action
GCI
Strong female character
Minority group
Nerd tech guy
Loads of stale jokes

Check, check, check that should entertain enough morons to reach a box office profitability. Having read some reviews online and judging by the reaction from people leaving the cinema, I have lost faith in humanity, and I feel we're getting dumber by the day and willing to accept just about anything as entertainment. We don't want to think; we just want flashing shit at us for two hours and sound that is loud AF.

Sensory overload and some PC propaganda and you got yourself a winning movie in 2020 and beyond. This movie is all a cash grab and a play on nostalgia milking a beloved IP to death, and I'd have to give this movie 5 rehashed jokes out of 10

Do us all a favour and retire this franchise immediately! You don't need the money, and we don't need these movies to be made. My parting suggestion is to rewatch the first two and forget the 3rd one ever happened.