The well-established ‘Bad Boys’ buddy cop formula isn’t rocket science. It’s combustible friction, and thus comedy between two very different Miami detectives— Will Smith as Mike Lowery and Martin Lawrence as Marcus Barnett—and as many chaotic shoot ‘em ups and car chases as possible as humanly possible mixed with Michael Bayhem-esque cinematic slickness and hysterics. Toss in something personal to make the story abrasions sting when needed—a little revenge and payback— and some intimate, brotherly love vibes between two friends from work who drive each other crazy but are each ultimately other’s ‘Ride Or Die’ law enforcement soulmates, and the special sauce is complete.
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Directed again by hyper-stylists and Bay acolytes Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (“Ms. Marvel”), following their successful attempts at reviving the dormant franchise with 2020’s “Bad Boys For Life,” they, and everyone involved, including producer Jerry Bruckheimer, know there’s no point in straying from the blueprint. And stick to the script they do.
“Bad Boys Ride Or Die” is really more of the same, but after a very uneven, wobbly start that feels a little eye-rolling predictable even for this franchise—Mike and Marcus butting heads over something frivolous, Miami as sexy playground establishing shots, every ‘Bad Boy’ camera-circling cliché in the book, etc.—the film eventually slides into a semi-entertaining groove.
To that end, there’s dumb, silly, bumbling ‘Bad Boys,’ the near minstrel-like humor and abject stupidity, and there’s histrionic and visceral action ‘Bad Boys.’ And when sh*t gets real and pops off, as ridiculous and inane as things often get, at least the action and melodramatic stakes can captivate with their over-the-top intensity (a frantic helicopter sequence in the middle of the movie is positively thrilling and would likely make Tom Cruise proud).
Riffing hard on the events of “Bad Boy For Life”— the death of Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) at the hand of Mike’s son, the Cartel-running assassin Armando Aretas (Jacob Scipio), who assassinated Howard, but found a little redemption by the end— ‘Ride Or Die’ begins with something more uplifting. Mike’s marrying his new beau, Christine (Melanie Liburd). Everything’s cool in the gang until Marcus has a mild heart attack and momentarily dies on the dance floor.
Revived, from then on, he experiences a goofy spiritual awakening: God is good, life is great, and he thinks he’s invulnerable because Captain Howard told him it’s not his time to die (though he still struggles with a sweets and snack addiction, which yields some iffy comedy). Meanwhile, Mike, a brand-new husband, experiences a panic attack in his first post-wedding action sequence, a sign that he’s starting to sweat things a little harder. And yes, for ‘Bad Boys,’ this is what you call character development (hey, it’s something).
The plot is convoluted and simple, but the shortest version is that conspiracy is afoot. Some Cartel-related goons from the third film posthumously frame Howard for drug-smuggling crimes, tainting his legacy in the process and enraging his daughter, a U.S. Marshall Agent (Rhea Seehorn) who vehemently believes her father was nothing but honorable. But Howard, who had been secretly investigating internal corruption within his own department, was close to unveiling these ugly truths. Howard’s setup soon inadvertently implicates Mike and Marcus, and they—along with Armando, eventually broken out of prison to protect his life— soon become fugitives on the run who must find the big evil villain of it all (Eric Dane) before their own police department and the vengeful U.S. Marshall hunt them down.
Reprising their roles from “Bad Boys For Life” are Mike’s ex-girlfriend, now Miami PD Captain Rita Secada (Paola Núñez), and AMMO members Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Dorn, the guy-in-computer chair tech wiz (Alexander Ludwig). Ioan Gruffudd shows up as a political stiff and Secada’s new man, Tiffany Haddish, appears in an all-too-brief cameo (she’d be franchise material, frankly), and DJ Khaled turns up in one of the film’s many winky fan service nods from the franchise (which include Michael Bay and a few others).
Dane’s villain character is, of course, a one-note detestable douche, but that’s how it often is with these kinds of films; your antagonist is so vile, it feels all the more f*ck yeah! satisfying when they finally receive their bloody comeuppance.
One can see why Adil and Bilall were handpicked to pick up the mantle that Michael Bay put down after the second installment. They’re not subtle and boom-bastically excessive, but that’s clearly what the franchise requires and even craves. They also have a zealous enthusiasm for everything that feels genuine and unjaded. While they’re at times overwrought in a way that doesn’t even make sense for an already exaggeratedly sensational franchise—the choice to suddenly go first-person-shooter style like a video game in the middle of an action sequence and then abandoning the technique later is a headscratcher— they are generally good stewards of this franchise, right down to crafting a commercially glossy and over-polished package. Sometimes they get a little grab baggy—a throw sh*t at the wall approach of cinematic bombardment to shock and awe, drones, shaky handheld, etc.—but when they can focus their occasionally undisciplined aim, ‘Ride Or Die’ can action-impress.
Written by Chris Bremner and Will Beall, while most of the humor in ‘Ride Of Die,’ doesn’t really land—too broad and foolish—the comedy starts to pick up halfway through the picture. A sequence with some hillbilly rednecks provides some laughs, and then there’s Dennis Greene as Reggie McDonald, Marcus’ son-in-law. His character has always been minor and tangential to the series, but as a Marine staff sergeant, he finally gets an “oh sh*t!” scene to himself that steals the show with both hilarity and volatile action (100% he’ll step up into a bigger role if they there’s a fifth movie).
For all the absurd banter, the would-be amusing repartee, and requisite attempts at heart and soul between the two brothers from another mother, ‘Bad Boys’ flourishes in chaos and pandemonium. So, by the end of the film, the filmmakers are more than content to ascend as the heirs of Michael Bay-like bedlam. No one tries to reinvent the wheel, and everyone plays the greatest hits, steering things right off the cliff into explosive, slow-motion ecstasy, where ‘Bad Boys’ thrives and survives best. [B-]
“Bad Boys Ride Or Die” opens June 7 via Sony Pictures.