Belated sequels are a thing now it seems. And when they land like this, why the hell not! Bad Boys for Life could have just been a service to nostalgia but Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Gangster/Patser) have brought some of their insane, irrepressible energy to this latest incarnation of Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett’s (Martin Lawrence) Bad Boys and, for me, it manages to hit all of its marks. It doesn’t do anything groundbreaking or new but sometimes that isn’t the point of a belated sequel, especially one that is character-centric like the Bad Boys franchise.
From the get-go, we are thrust into a whirling, kinetic car chase peppered with jokes and camaraderie, familiar to the style of their previous outings. And this is the biggest win for this latest film, in that it manages to get the tone of their friendship spot on: Jocular and combative, honest but condescending at the same time and often playing out some game of one-upmanship, but all taken in their stride which has been forged through experiences and time spent fighting with and for each other.
The heart of this film, the bond between the two M’s, is still there and without it this film wouldn’t work, so again the writers (Chris Bremner, Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan) and directors need some praise for bringing it back to the screen. But one of the main things that caught my eye was the action sequences, which were clear and intense, providing a spectacle as well as weight to the outcome. The action scenes don’t last too long but are devastating and concussive, and usually followed up by a quip or two to lighten the mood once again. As you would expect, following on from a Michael Bay product, there are explosions and shooting and all that kind of mindless excitement aplenty.
Other returning characters slip back into their roles comfortably: Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is as grouchy and put upon as ever and Marcus’ wife Theresa (Theresa Randle) reprises her role in perfect fashion, frightening the life out of Marcus whenever he does something wrong/stupid. The inclusion of the new AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations) team is hit and miss and feels at times like a brazen attempt to drag the Bad Boys into the current day, but then again this is also played off as the new wave vs the old guys, trying to teach the old dogs new tricks (or the other way round!). The main protagonist, Armando, is played superb menace by Jacob Scipio (who amazingly I have just found out was the Kerwhizzitor on the popular CBeebies show Kerwhizz. That has just blown my mind a little!).
The blend of action and comedy works very well and I thoroughly enjoyed dipping back into the Miami cop world of the Bad Boys. With a blatant nod towards leaving things open for a sequel, on the basis of this outing I for one am hoping it comes to fruition.
Film N Stuff 