The Mosley Review: Bad Boys For Life
Way back in 1995, an action masterpiece was made by a first time director Michael Bay. That film introduced us to a stylish, adrenaline fueled and hilarious buddy cop film that would be herald as one of the best action films ever made. Bay returned for an even better sequel that carried on the same style, but kicked everything up to even more epic proportions. In my opinion, it carried over the same chemistry of the two leads, but it was missing the grounded nature of the first film. Bay moved on and decided to not comeback for a third adventure. For years I’ve waited for the boys to return to the big screen once again, but I feared it would not meet the high expectations of fans like myself. After 17 years, we finally get the third entry in the Bad Boys franchise and it was everything I hoped for. After the first 5 minutes, we’re back into the world of Bad Boys and it felt like we never left. The action in the film was outstanding and got back to basics by keeping things grounded and realistic. The comedy is still fresh and this was the most stylish and gorgeous films in the trilogy. The charm is there and it is complimented with a very heartfelt story that has many messages and surprises.
The key to making a great trilogy is not only a great story, but it is the growth the characters go through over the years. The character growth of our main heroes has reached a new level evolution. Martin Lawrence returns as Marcus Burnett and he was hilarious as ever and much wiser. He becomes the voice of reason in the partnership and I loved that. Will Smith returns as Mike Lowery and he hasn’t skipped the beat as the charming action junkie we all love. Marcus has had the most character growth in the franchise and now it was Mike’s turn and it was great to see him dealing with his age and mortality. He had a great arc that was natural and personal. Together, their on screen chemistry has never been stronger and you can see the genuine fun they’re having and that was delightful. Theresa Randle returns as Marcus’s wife Theresa and I loved her moments. Joe Pantoliano reprises his role as the high strung and stressed out Captain Howard we all know and love. He was great once again and he delivers some great wisdom in a particular scene with Mike. Paola Núñez was great as Rita, the head of the AMMO (Advanced Miami Metro Operations) team and her chemistry with Will Smith was smokey. The rest of the AMMO team was portrayed by Alexander Ludwig, Vanessa Hudgens and Charles Melton as Dorn, Kelly and Rafe and they were fantastic. They were the new bloods of the franchise and they all have their excellent qualities. Jacob Scipio was awesome as Armando Armas and he was great in all of his bloody action scenes. Kate del Castillo was perfectly casts as the villainous Isabel Aretas.
The score by Lorne Balfe was outstanding and he brings back the Bad Boys theme from the original film and gives it new life. Like I said before, the action is scaled back and I loved how each action scene built up the tension and also had consequences for certain characters. It was gritty and raw at times, but always fun and exhilarating. The only problems I had were some of the moments where the Marcus and Mike are in a car and the CGI background was very obvious and distracting. At times there were too many close ups where you could’ve pulled back and let the visuals breathe. Other than that I had a hell of a great time. For a franchise to return with a third entry after a number of years can be tricky and disappointing, but I am so glad to say that this was an outstanding return to form and one of the best pure and classic styled action films I’ve seen in a long time. Directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah have studied what made the first film great and they’ve done an excellent job bringing us back to the franchise. I loved this film and I can’t recommend it enough. Do stick around for the 2 great mid credit scenes.
