We're not just black, we're cops too! We'll pull ourselves over later!
Quick history of me and the Bad Boys franchise... In 1995 I was introduced to 'loose-cannon' cops Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), courtesy of director Michael 'blow-shit-up' Bay. Lowrey was the eternal playboy and Marcus the family man, and they both drove their captain nuts with their cavalier attitude to law enforcement. There was gung-ho action, expletive-strewn banter and a comedy element involving the guys exchanging identities in the name of protecting a witness. It was passably entertaining, though I didn't feel the urge to watch it ever again.
Then In 2003 with Bay once more at the helm came Bad Boys II. All I remember about that one is it was very, very long, with louder gung-ho action and expletive-strewn banter that was more abrasive, but with no plot that I can remotely recall (although I imagine there was something threading the car chases and explosions together). Oh yes - and it's one of PC Danny Butterman's favourite movies in Hot Fuzz, a film that parodies Bay-style action flicks while being massively better than any of them. But you seriously couldn't pay me to watch Bad Boys II again.
Which brings me to Bad Boys For Life - a film I actually enjoyed a slice more than you might expect from all that preamble. Just a slice, mind...
We find Mike and Marcus quite a bit older and marginally wiser than before. Lowrey is still pursuing his bachelor lifestyle, but receiving grief from his partner for not settling on a fellow-officer with whom he has both history and chemistry. Marcus has just become a grandfather and is considering the R-word (that's 'retirement'). But then a vicious escapee from a Mexican prison starts plotting multi-person revenge with the help of her grown son, one of said persons being Will Smith's Mike. Whatever he's done to annoy her, the Bad Boys' lives and partnership are about to be thrown into major crisis.
For a film I hadn't been particularly looking forward to, this sequel did a fair amount - at least early on - to win me over. The new directing partnership of Adil and Bilall (as they're credited) pulls back to some extent from the excess of Bay. There are the same blue-filtered Miami landscapes, glossy automobiles and high-octane action sequences certainly. But there's also less tastelessness and more room to breathe, rather than wall-to-wall crash-boom bikini-ogling bayhem. Smith and Lawrence have an irresistible chemistry that picks up from where they left off, even if much of their dialogue plays for easy laughs. (It gets quite a few, so I can't push that criticism too far.) And the story takes an unexpectedly bold turn early on that seizes the attention and provides distinct character journies for our heroes.
Sadly having done the hard work of grabbing hold, the film eases its grip later on. Half an hour shorter than the interminable Bad Boys II, its running time can still be felt, the jaunty repartee wearing a bit thin by the time a (long) final act commences. A bunch of younger characters are introduced, along with a villainous subplot and a major backstory involving one of our leads that's dumped on us late in the day. None of this is bad stuff in itself, it just needed to be woven together with a bit more finesse. That way the sentimentality (of which there's much), the full-on violence (ditto) and the blunt humour (tons of it) might have blended in a more sleek and effective way. Oh and there's a character-as-plot-device moment that grated on me in both its predictability and the disservice it did to a fine actor in a great role. Hate that!
(Not either of these fine actors, obvs.)
Ultimately there's enough good-natured, funny and exciting stuff to keep things bubbling till the end, even if that end should have come a good fifteen minutes sooner. The new crew prove likeable, knitting together nicely with the old guard and exhibiting a commendable sense of gender equality too. Of course the freshened-up dynamics (plus a significant late-in-the-day twist) ensure that this will not the Boys' final dust-up with Miami's criminal underworld - especially since box-office returns are proving impressive. And you know, I'm okay with that. Bad Boys For Life is an okay time at the movies. That said, I don't feel the urge to watch it ever again.
Gut Reaction: Quite a few laughs and a big gasp. Then a degree of weariness punctuated by further sporadic laughs and occasional thrills.
Memorable Moment: The 'big gasp' moment - see Gut Reaction.
Ed's Verdict: 6/10. Smith and Lawrence did well to return to this; they do a good buddy-act and BB3 has a decent share of good bits. If the screenplay was tighter, I might have mustered some proper enthusiasm.
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