Bad Boys For Life is God’s First Gift of 2020 (SPOILERS)
Who would’ve thought that a Bad Boys sequel not directed by Michael Bay (who makes already the greatest cameo of the decade as a Wedding MC) would be hella entertaining? This surprisingly deep and emotional third installment of the Bad Boys franchise follows, once again, Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) as they try to take down an old flame of Mike’s (Kate del Castillo) as she is using her son to exact revenge on the police and people that were involved in the assassination of her husband. Of course, Mike has to “dies last”.
The film does have the loving banter between Mike and Marcus that has been beautifully exploited and brought to screen by Michael Bay & George Gallo, but Bay’s films have always been inherently superficial when dealing with real, genuine emotion. There are many scenes in this installment that aren’t funny and are surprisingly grim. All of these sequences are handled with respect and care, where we finally see two fantastically written characters at their most vulnerable. When Mike Lowery gets shot viciously by Armando (Jacob Scipio), the audience isn’t laughing anymore. For one brief moment, you may actually think that Mike won’t pull through. This is how invested I am in these characters. The vulnerability that the characters face, for the first time, is something that was never explored in Bay’s movies. We see Marcus & Mike being emotionally grief-stricken when Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) gets shot and killed at his daughter’s basketball game by Armando. I was incredibly surprised that they would kill such an iconic character, but it makes sense because it’s the only reason that makes Marcus come back out of “retirement” and say “Once last time”. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are truly at the top of their form, and they give the best iterations of Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett due to their emotional progression. Both of them are frail, close to retirement, but they still act like they are cops from the late 90s and early 2000s. That vulnerability is as well-exploited as Sean Connery’s James Bond in his 50s in Irvin Kershner’s Never Say Never Again.
I was expecting Bad Boys for Life to be a fun romp, and it is, at times, but I never expected the film to be this emotionally rich and surprisingly grim and deep at times. The action sequences follow that “grim” pattern, but are a thrill to observe on an IMAX screen. More than once, I had genuine physical reactions during many of the film’s cathartic and grim action sequences. You can tell they are freely inspired by Chad Stahelski’s “gun-fu” John Wick franchise and move away from the Bayhem. While Michael Bay’s artistic style is very singular and provokes true emotional reactions during Bad Boys (I and II)’s many frenetic action sequences, directors Adil El Arbi and Billal Farah transposes Michael Bay’s iconic style and tones it down a notch for more composed, structured and wonderfully choreographed action sequences. There are many that are simply perfection, especially the ones that involve gunplay, with creative stuntwork and immaculate structure. The action gets profundly bloody at times, but it feels more structured and less extravageant than Bay’s films. But it really doesn’t matter. The relationship between Marcus and Mike is as palpable as ever during the action sequences, and the addition of AMMO adds a lot during the action sequences, as it humanizes Mike and Marcus.
AMMO includes Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens), Dorn (Alexander Ludwig) and Rafe (Charles Melton) who are all terrific and are used perfectly. They do not overshadow Mike & Marcus and enhance the banter between the characters. Bad Boys for Life has a terrific balance of humor, fantastically choreographed action sequences, gritty drama that may or may not hit you emotionally and make you cry, but it has something Bay’s previous two films lack — heart. Martin Lawrence hasn’t been good since the second Bad Boys and it’s a thrill to see him actually caring (for once) on screen and have a lot of fun with Will Smith’s not-so-bulletproof Mike Lowery. When the emotion hits (particularly when he prays to God for Mike’s good health) or when the comedy hits (“Imma penetrate this man’s soul with my heart” is already the best quote of 2020), Lawrence is always at the top of his form, and so is Smith who has had his share of duds over the past few years like Collateral Beauty, Aladdin and Gemini Man (the latter being worst movie of 2019). It’s finally great to see Will Smith back in true form in an emotionally powerful role, who is able to convey so much through his facial expressions, something he tried to do (and failed) in Gemini Man.
Bad Boys for Life solidifies the return of Martin Lawrence and Will Smith as two great stars who are able to carry the film with so much emotional weight. Its surprisingly deep story with many interesting reveals (that are done in the vein of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, but better because it makes more sense than THAT movie) make the movie the best in the franchise, thus far — including the numerous fun cameos from Michael Bay and Khaled (DJ Khaled) Khaled complement the cathartically kinetic action sequences. It’s the first great film of 2020, a movie Martin Scorsese would call “real cinema”.
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