BAD BOYS FOR LIFE
****
Directors: Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah
Screenwriters: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan, adapted from a story by Craig and Carnahan, based on characters by George Gallo.
Principal cast:
Will Smith
Martin Lawrence
Alexander Ludwig
Vanessa Hudgens
Charles Melton
Country: USA/Canada
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 123 mins.
Australian release date: 16 January 2020
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney, on 15 January 2020.
Bad boys bad boys, Whatcha gonna do, Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
– Chorus from Inner Circle’s Bad Boys.
Oh yes, they comin’ for you, especially you Detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith). Bad Boys For Life is a return to form for the Bad Boys duo of Lowrey and Detective Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), who have been off the mean streets of Miami (well, our screens at least) for 17 years but have now returned with a bang. Hold on to your seats and get ready for a bit of movie mayhem as we are plonked in the front seat of this crime caper that’s brimming with lines as fast as the action. When you see those famous words from the eighties and nineties in the opening credits, ‘A Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Production,’ you know you’re in for a thrilling ride (NB. Although Simpson OD’ed in 1996 his producing partner seems to be keeping his name alive).
The first two films in the franchise were directed by Michael Bay but this one has Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah responsible for bringing the screenplay to life. True to the earlier outings, the story combines rapid-fire repartee and comedic quips with heavy-duty death and destruction. When Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo), the wife of a deceased drug lord, escapes from gaol in Mexico, she sets out to avenge the death of her husband by ordering the assassination of everyone involved with his capture and incarceration. To this end, she sends her son Armando (Jacob Scipio) to Miami to put her plan into action, insisting that he keep Det. Lowrey for last because she wants him to suffer the most because it was he who was responsible for hubby’s arrest. Isabel’s no ordinary crime boss, however; she’s a bruja (a witch) and a devotee of the cult of Santa Muerte, the personification of death. Complicating matters is the fact that Burnett is planning on retiring, having become a grandfather for the first time, and it’s up to Lowrey to convince him to stay on, reminding him that they both swore an oath to “ride together, die together.”
The script of Bad Boys For Life rocks along, drawing on the familiar tropes of the earlier two films until it suddenly comes up with a genuinely surprising twist that puts a different spin on the plot. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are a great team; the latter is possibly the best thing about this film, his sense of timing impeccable, and this is the kind of material that suits Smith most, rather than when he plays it straight (cf. Gemini Man). Watching them bitch among themselves is great fun. It’s good to see Joe Pantoliano back, too, as their long-suffering boss Captain Howard, who adds to the blackly humorous banter. The cinematography is frenetic, capturing the hell-for-leather car chases and shoot-outs with a combination of hand-held camera work, drone shots and body-cams. And, as expected in a Bad Boys movie, the soundtrack is up-to-the-minute punchy, and includes a great mashup of Inner Circle’s original theme with P. Diddy, Black Rob and Mark Curry’s Bad Boy for Life. Bad Boys For Life is a pop-corn movie that delivers what it promises on the package - lots of murder and mayhem coupled with a lot of laughs.
Screenwriters: Chris Bremner, Peter Craig and Joe Carnahan, adapted from a story by Craig and Carnahan, based on characters by George Gallo.
Principal cast:
Will Smith
Martin Lawrence
Alexander Ludwig
Vanessa Hudgens
Charles Melton
Country: USA/Canada
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 123 mins.
Australian release date: 16 January 2020
Previewed at: Event Cinemas, George Street, Sydney, on 15 January 2020.
Bad boys bad boys, Whatcha gonna do, Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?
– Chorus from Inner Circle’s Bad Boys.
Oh yes, they comin’ for you, especially you Detective Mike Lowrey (Will Smith). Bad Boys For Life is a return to form for the Bad Boys duo of Lowrey and Detective Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), who have been off the mean streets of Miami (well, our screens at least) for 17 years but have now returned with a bang. Hold on to your seats and get ready for a bit of movie mayhem as we are plonked in the front seat of this crime caper that’s brimming with lines as fast as the action. When you see those famous words from the eighties and nineties in the opening credits, ‘A Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Production,’ you know you’re in for a thrilling ride (NB. Although Simpson OD’ed in 1996 his producing partner seems to be keeping his name alive).
The first two films in the franchise were directed by Michael Bay but this one has Belgian directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah responsible for bringing the screenplay to life. True to the earlier outings, the story combines rapid-fire repartee and comedic quips with heavy-duty death and destruction. When Isabel Aretas (Kate del Castillo), the wife of a deceased drug lord, escapes from gaol in Mexico, she sets out to avenge the death of her husband by ordering the assassination of everyone involved with his capture and incarceration. To this end, she sends her son Armando (Jacob Scipio) to Miami to put her plan into action, insisting that he keep Det. Lowrey for last because she wants him to suffer the most because it was he who was responsible for hubby’s arrest. Isabel’s no ordinary crime boss, however; she’s a bruja (a witch) and a devotee of the cult of Santa Muerte, the personification of death. Complicating matters is the fact that Burnett is planning on retiring, having become a grandfather for the first time, and it’s up to Lowrey to convince him to stay on, reminding him that they both swore an oath to “ride together, die together.”
The script of Bad Boys For Life rocks along, drawing on the familiar tropes of the earlier two films until it suddenly comes up with a genuinely surprising twist that puts a different spin on the plot. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are a great team; the latter is possibly the best thing about this film, his sense of timing impeccable, and this is the kind of material that suits Smith most, rather than when he plays it straight (cf. Gemini Man). Watching them bitch among themselves is great fun. It’s good to see Joe Pantoliano back, too, as their long-suffering boss Captain Howard, who adds to the blackly humorous banter. The cinematography is frenetic, capturing the hell-for-leather car chases and shoot-outs with a combination of hand-held camera work, drone shots and body-cams. And, as expected in a Bad Boys movie, the soundtrack is up-to-the-minute punchy, and includes a great mashup of Inner Circle’s original theme with P. Diddy, Black Rob and Mark Curry’s Bad Boy for Life. Bad Boys For Life is a pop-corn movie that delivers what it promises on the package - lots of murder and mayhem coupled with a lot of laughs.