The Bad Boys Miami cop movie franchise was revived four years ago after a 17-year layoff. In January 2020, on the eve of the Covid shutdown, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence reunited to deliver a big hit. The movie, Bad Boys For Life, revived that most 1990s-centric of crime-and-action formulas, even including the long-defunct logo of “Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer Productions,” while making room for jokes about the advanced age of the two stars.
Now, four-and-a-half years and one Oscars slap later, Smith and Lawrence are back for another sequel called Bad Boys: Ride or Die. It represents a career revival for the two actors, one of whom was part of a major disgrace a couple of years ago, and the other of whom was out of the movies altogether for an extended period.
Once again, directed by the duo Adil & Bilall, the new film features the same strengths and weaknesses as the previous one. The banter between the stars works, and the character beats are wonderful. But the action’s inconsistent and choppy, the plot convoluted, and the film’s treatment of police power is from a different era.
Despite the two reaching their mid-50s, there are fewer age jokes this time. However, considerations of mortality continue, with Lawrence’s character suffering a near-death experience and taking on a newfound interest in mysticism. As the film begins, Mike (Smith) is on the verge of marriage, but not before he and Marcus (Lawrence) get involved in a convenience store shooting that’s never mentioned again (even if it’s justified, don’t cops usually get months of desk duty after they shoot a guy?).
The main plot concerns an effort by a criminal (an effective Eric Dane) to frame the cops’ deceased boss (Joe Pantoliano) for cartel ties and also engage in large-scale corruption and murder. Pantoliano’s Captain Howard was bumped off in the previous film, but this dead character has even more screen time this time, thanks to the magic of a series of “Dead Man’s Switch” videos. He gets a U.S. Marshal daughter (Better Call Saul standout Rhea Sheehorn) and a granddaughter.
The film also feels the need to give subplots to an ever-expanding group of characters from the last movie (played by Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Nunez) and cameos from Tiffany Haddish, DJ Khaled, and former NBA big man John Salley, reprising his role from the 1995 original film. None of the “surprise” villains are shocking, while the plot has several dead ends, including an expensive bounty placed on the characters that’s instantly forgotten when the plot requires it.
As for the action, it’s hit or miss. Adil & Bilall seem inspired by the work of Michael Bay, who directed the first two films and continues making cameos. There’s annoying handheld shaky-cam, although it gets more ambitious occasionally, especially in a well-planned finale set at an abandoned amusement park. There are plenty of 1990s action movie tropes, especially the inclusion of female characters who exist primarily to get held hostage. As middling as Bad Boys For Life is, the crowd at my screening was buying into it, laughing at the jokes and reacting to the two stars, both of whom had careers that looked dead not long ago.