It has been seventeen years since we last saw iconic cop pair Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett encounter an exhilarating car chase or engage in a high heated gun battle. I can only imagine that during the long hiatus some Bad Boys fans were loosing hope as to whether or not the pair would ever appear on screen again, little did they know that Bad Boys For Life would come into existence.
Since the last entry of the Bad Boys saga, several years have passed and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) is at a stage in his life where he feels it may be time to turn in the badge and gun, and start focusing on his family life. Mike Lowry (Will Smith) on the other hand still is all about the gun fighting showdowns and the high speed car chasing life. However, when Mike‘s past catches up with him and leaves him on death’s door, the way the Bad Boys ride is impacted heavily.
I cannot express how much I enjoyed this film! From the very first scene which sees the rise of a very ruthless foe named Isabel Aretas ‘The Witch’ (Kate Del Castillo), immediately you are anchored in, and that’s what I really enjoyed. The film provides a set of fresh new faces and a variety of intriguing characters that I wanted to know more about. They were never boring and the what they implemented into the duration of the story always kept the course interesting.
However, I think it’s when that iconic “Bad Boys” track by Inner Circle drops that’s when you know everyone is really into it!
Although the action does drop a bit, particularly with Marcus Burnett‘s attempt to adapt to the life away from the line of fire, which is an odd formula as Bad Boys has always been consistent with its action play through. This does slow things down, however it opens up the comedy side of Bad Boys For Life, which I feel broke up the intense action scenes well. It also gave the audience a bit of a breather to process and take in what has happened so far since we last saw our favourite cops. During the action scenes that the film did have, there is always sparks of comedy overflowing out of Will Smith and Martin Laurence‘s chemistry, which is just gold. This is purposely done to split the two up to allow both characters to live out of the lives the way they want, but it’s more or less to show Mike Lowry‘s character transition and development.
Bad Boys For Life has a really good story structure that is accompanied brilliantly with unexpected story twists, so perfectly executed that it comes as shock when it occurs. You wouldn’t expect anything less with Jerry Bruckheimer behind the producing reigns though. I felt that what makes Bad Boys For Life more significant in comparison to the previous two films, is how we always get a picture of Mike Lowry as this strong bulletproof personality “nothing can touch Bad Boys” sort of persona. Within this instalment, the film really goes in depth into Mike‘s fall and breaking point. The story progression really chops him down to size to a state of rawness, challenging him to except change, that sometimes Bad Boys aren’t as bulletproof as he thinks, and at a certain point he needs to accept help from others and not be so reckless.
As I previously mentioned about having a cast of interesting characters, the performances in this film were brilliant. It was great to see that some of the original cast members came back to reprise their roles such as Joe Pantoliano (Captain Conrad Howard) and Theresa Randle (Theresa Burnett). Kate Del Castillo was brilliant as the foe, her constant ritual kill offerings to a death deity proved disturbing yet intriguing. Paola Nunez who plays Rita, leader of a special swat like team called A.M.M.O was incredible. Her portrayal of a strong female lead was impressive, her character packing a range of weapon skills and tactical combat talents. It was just amazing to watch.
If you were to ask me if I was a fan of Vanessa Hudgens, I’d probably say no. But in just under two hours she stole my heart and just everything about her was explosive. Her take on tactical take downs and weapon expertise as A.M.M.O member Kelly was perfect! Not to mention her hair, that hair was just rocking. Jacob Scipio who plays The Witch‘s son Armando Armas displayed exceptionally an anti-hero conflicted between his own choices and his mother’s. He did an incredible job also showcasing his talents with a weapon and proved to be a formidable foe, if not more for Mike Lowry.
Bad Boys For Life is packed full of great laughs, amazing action and pursuit scenes, and a really engaging story. The cast of actors really lift and carry the story well that keeps it interesting and engaging all the way through. Whether we will see another Bad Boys film sooner or later, we can walk away from this with the hopeful words that Mike Lowry and Marcus Burnett leave with us. No matter what happens or what the future brings say it with me, “Bad Boys for life!”