Bad Boys sticks to its guns for an explosively fun summer flick
After “The Slap,” Will Smith took a much needed multi-year hiatus from acting. Whatever self-reflection, anger management, family therapy or whatnot he (was forced to or voluntarily) went through, good for him. He also made a very wise decision (likely in close coordination with his agent) to return to movies within the warm embrace of the most tried-and-true action franchise of his career: Bad Boys. Re-teaming with Martin Lawrence and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life), this fourth installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, proves that the series still has some juice left in the tank, as long as it sticks to its iconic blend of neon-soaked action and curse-filled bickering.
When we’re reintroduced to Miami police officers Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), they’re dressed up in suits and speeding along the Miami beach highway towards Mike’s wedding, to which they’re running late. After another twenty-five minutes or so of establishing the emotional stakes, a scene involving an existential awakening, and to-the-point villain introductions, the film finally kicks into high gear and never lets up after the duo’s late captain, Capt. Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano), is framed for colluding with local cartels. Lowrey and Burnett set out to clear Capt. Howard’s name, but in doing so uncover corruption within the police department and become fugitives from the cartel and their own police force. This is the type of ludicrous plot that you’d expect from the fourth installment of an action franchise, but what matters most is that Bad Boys: Ride or Die contains one thrilling set piece after another, with Lawrence and Smith arguing and delivering one-liners before, during, and after each firefight.
Director of Photography Robrecht Heyvaert is also returning after his work on the third Bad Boys film. Under his supervision, the camera swoops, swirls, hovers, spins, and zooms in and around the action. The zaniness is all part of the appeal. Many of the movements are direct callbacks to memorable moments from previous installments (especially Bad Boys 2), and the camerawork gets more and more ridiculous as the film progresses. By the end, you’d be hard pressed to remember seeing any still shots in the third act. It’s as if the filmmakers knowingly tried to outdo themselves with every new scene and the audience is invited to cheer them on. This approach to cinematography wouldn’t work in just any action franchise. The reason Bad Boys: Ride or Die works is because the filmmakers, and the stars, aren’t trying to give anything more than what’s expected of them. When you see a vehicle on screen, chances are likely it’ll end up crashing… and/or exploding. When you see a gun, it’s going to be fired, a lot. A deep exploration of modern police practices this is not. This is explosions. This is f-bombs. This is a camera mounted on a handgun during a siege. This is Bad Boys.
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens in theaters on Friday, June 7th.
