The latest installment of this buddy-comedy is “fun enough in its chaotic, grungy, rough and ready way” – but also “nonsensical.”
Is Will Smith a movie star again? At the 2022 Oscars, he had the best and worst of times. He won the best actor award for his role in King Richard, but he also swore repeatedly on live TV and slapped presenter Chris Rock. Two years later, he appears in his first Hollywood film since that infamous night. Are we ready to forgive and forget? It will be interesting to see if audiences will watch Smith in Bad Boys: Ride or Die – or as it might have been called, Bad Boys 4: Random Subtitle.
Choosing Bad Boys: Ride or Die as his comeback was smart. The franchise, consisting of two Michael Bay films from 1995 and 2003, revived in 2020 by Moroccan-Belgian duo Adil and Bilall, stars Smith and Martin Lawrence as Miami detectives Mike and Marcus. By appearing in this popular series, Smith implies he’s still the same person he always was.
Tonally, it’s also a wise choice. It may be too soon to see Smith as the family-friendly goofball from Aladdin or Spies in Disguise, or the heroic figure from Independence Day and Men In Black. But in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, he plays a character who swears and fights as recklessly as he did at the Oscars, making his role less jarring. If you can handle the film’s tone, which swings between wacky antics and gruesome violence, often against women, you won’t be troubled by Smith’s past actions.
Adil and Bilall keep us from dwelling on Smith’s behavior. In the hectic opening, there’s a bikini-centric montage, a high-speed Porsche chase, a garage hold-up, a wedding, a heart attack, and a vision of the afterlife where Marcus believes Mike is his soulmate. This is all shot and edited frantically, making it hard to follow the action scenes, but you can’t say the film lacks energy.
It may not push Smith back to the A-list, but it shows he can handle a B-movie.
There aren’t any jokes about Mike slapping someone, but if you look closely, you might see references to Smith’s history. Mike’s bride, Christine (Melanie Liburd), lacks personality and backstory, but she says, “I met you at your lowest, but there was a fire in you that was extraordinary.” Smith is unusually restrained. Lawrence has the lead role, gurning and clowning with gusto, while also handling action scenes. Mike is more of a grumpy straight man with occasional panic attacks, possibly reflecting Smith’s own issues.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die isn’t a deep character study. After Marcus’s surreal near-death experience, it becomes a typical cop thriller with helicopters, explosions, and video game-style shoot-outs. It features interchangeable sidekicks who won’t matter to those unfamiliar with the previous films.
The plot kicks off with Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) being accused of working for a drug cartel, despite being murdered in Bad Boys for Life. Mike and Marcus aim to clear his name with cryptic messages he left, teaming up with his murderer, who is Mike’s son (Jacob Scipio). Miami’s prospective mayor (Ioan Gruffudd) attending Mike’s wedding hints at a conspiracy.
Critics often say we shouldn’t analyze Hollywood blockbusters but just enjoy them. Few films need our brains on standby as much as Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The plot and stunts are nonsensical, and internal logic is non-existent, like Marcus’s heart attack stress being forgotten quickly. But the film is fun in its chaotic, grungy way. It may not bring Smith back to the top, but it shows he can still star in a B-movie. At this point, that counts as a win.
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