Review: Bad Boys: Ride or Die – They comin’ for you
Directed by Adil & Bilall
Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Jacob Scipio, Joe Pantoliano
6/10
Following up from the Bad Boys For Life reboot of 2020, this is pretty much of equal quality—some decent action, a messy story, but also some great chemistry between the two leads that ought to be the film’s biggest draw.
The convoluted plot is in love with its conspiracies and frame-ups, yet it never really reveals any surprises at all. Detective Mike Lowry (Will Smith) gets married at the beginning of the film, which is where his partner Detective Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) has a life-changing heart attack due to his bad health, but neither of these plot elements reemerge in any meaningful way. They are then tasked to investigate the corruption within the Miami PD when they receive a video message from their late Captain Conrad Howard (Joe Pantoliano) and have to team up with the previous film’s baddie, Armando (Jacob Scipio), Mike’s long-lost son.
Like with the rest of the franchise, Ride or Die certainly amps up its humour with some funny camaraderie between its leads, as well as some amusing set pieces. But the comedy seems to be at the detriment of the action at times, as these gags punctuating the action scenes can devalue their intensity and make the film generally come across as unserious.
The film really excels with its two leads, but every other character is so left by the wayside, they might as well get shot and killed with no one caring. The villain characters, both the redeeming son and the main baddie, are so lifeless and uninteresting, both bringing nothing new to cinematic villainy among their broodiness. They just seem dead in the water compared to the chemistry between Smith and Lawrence, who come across like they’re good chums in real life. It’s the opposite problem of the other recently released blockbuster, Furiosa, whose filmmaker clearly had more to say through the villains than the heroes.
Despite the comedic nature of the film, if you’re expecting any jokes about slapping or spousal insults, you’ll be disappointed. Will Smith isn’t the type to break the ice with some humble and amusing self-deprecation, nor is this film. This is despite very much having the chance to, given that not only does Smith’s character have a new wife at the beginning (who becomes more of a plot point than a character), but so much of the central friendship is based on talk-shit camaraderie, so you keep expecting this little real-life reference to pop up. Plenty of jokes are made at the expense of Lawrence’s weight, on the other hand.
This film can come across as so damn uncaring and unserious about itself, as it ignores plot points, themes, and secondary characters along the way. Yet instead, it has its sights on these leading men, who work well enough to keep you invested in the film. The action scenes are serviceable enough, though there’s love and attention given to its Miami setting amidst all the shoot-outs and explosions, along with one or two shots that reference the iconic imagery from Michael Bay’s original two movies (and look out for that director’s cameo here).
DAVID MORGAN-BROWN