With the upcoming release of Bad Boys Ride or Die in UK cinemas we’re crossing our fingers and toes that it can rectify the glaring mistakes that Bad Boys for Life made and put one of my favourite franchises back on track.
Bad Boys 1 and 2 are the ultimate comedy action flicks, they were the epitome of my childhood and when a third movie was announced I was absolutely over the moon until I watched it.
Don’t get me wrong, we didn’t hate it and maybe the inner fanboy inside of me gave it a four-star review when it really should have been a 3-star review but it was so different in tone and direction from the previous two movies and they failed the second they thought of the title.
Why not save the title Bad Boys for Life for the fourth movie and call it Bad Boys 4 Life? The most simple decision they could have taken in naming the movie and they screwed it up which is why Bad Boys Ride or Die is the name of the fourth movie and already this has me worried.
No Michael Bay means no bad boys and the third movie was proof of this as the film was so off-tone with Will Smith carrying the movie and poor Martin looking like he hadn’t been in front of a camera for the best part of a decade.
Bad Boys for Life was the highest-grossing film in the franchise (over $426 million) but this was to be expected after the popularity of the first 2 movies and the anticipation of fans screaming for a third movie to be released, the reviews weren’t so kind vs its popularity.
Bad Boys 1 and 2 are staple movies in the buddy-cop genre and the third movie was a disappointment in every area going as far as to bring in supernatural elements to proceedings as the movie draws to the close. What in the Dr Strange is this?!
Whilst Michael Bay does make a cameo in the third movie he’s not directing and you can tell as the film is just missing in the moments that hit the most with the first and second movies. There’s none of that impressive camera work, the slow-mo stand-up shots and insanely over-the-top intro credits. No Bay cinematics = no Bad Boys for me and that’s why this fourth movie worries me greatly.
But there’s hope.
Despite the terrible script and direction of Bad Boys for Life the spark is still alive and well between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and in a recent commercial, including soccer star Lionel Messi it’s clear to me that despite what the script and direction serves up there are going to be some very funny moments indeed.
The tone of Bad Boys for Life was more serious which meant the comedy was dialled back but just watching the trailer for the fourth movie gives me optimism as there are more jokes in the trailer than in the entirety of the third movie.
What also gets me excited are the public reactions from some of the first screenings which overwhelmingly paints Bad Boys Ride or Die as ‘funnier than the second movie’ and hails its comedic presence and brings back that good time at the theatre.
When it comes to Bad Boys it doesn’t matter what is going on around our central characters but you have to keep that emotional core strong for the audience to resonate with them, Bad Boys for Life lost its way but there’s hope that this fourth instalment could be a very special one indeed!
