Bad Boys for Life review

The bad boys are back, after another significant absence, this time without star director Michael Bay at the helm. It’s an interesting development for a series defined as much by his style and sensibilities as the charms of its two leads, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The fact that this comes right on the heels of Bay’s own new film 6 Underground, also makes for an interesting comparison. I did not like that film at all, save for an exhilarating opening car chase sequence, and I was curious what I would make of a Bad Boys film without his decidedly not-deft touch.

There is no doubt Bad Boys for Life differs from its predecessors in a couple of significant ways. The action scenes, while serviceable, lack the overwhelming bombast of Bay’s work, and there are few images that are going to stick in the brain the way the famous shot of Smith emerging from under a white hood in front of a burning cross does. Having said that, any scene that doesn’t involve action is decidedly more palatable than the leering, lurid slickness of 6 Underground. When characters are being funny they are shot in a way that services the vibe, when they have heart to hearts the film takes on a somewhat sombre look. This basic tonal coherence was not at all present in the first two films, and certainly made my viewing experience more pleasant.  

Whilst the style of the direction has somewhat changed, the star power of Smith and Lawrence has remained the same. They are terrifically charming in this, with a palpable chemistry whose chalk-and-cheese bickering has been given new life by an older, pudgier Lawrence contemplating retirement and settling down with his growing family. He is softer in more ways than one, whilst Smith is once again playing with an edge he rarely ever approaches outside of this series. His character (whose name doesn’t matter because it’s Will freaking Smith) confronts the inevitable limits of aging and is forced to mature out of his Bad Boys 2 ways, giving this film enough of a moral through line to just about keep me interested the whole way through.

Solid supporting performances from Paola Núñez, Jacob Scipio and the always fun Joe Pantoliano add to an easy going, fun atmosphere created by the two wisecracking leads while directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah keep the whole thing moving at a pace that is snappy but not exhausting. Whilst the absence of Michael Bay limits the ceiling of this film, it turns out it’s nice to have a sense of what’s happening every once in a while in an action flick. Overall I’m surprised to say that I enjoyed this about as well as any of the previous Bad Boys films, perhaps even preferring it; good news given that they’re already talking about making a fourth one.