REVIEW — “Bad Boys: Ride or Die”

Fueled by slick and stylish action and high-speed hilarity, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence’s Miami buddy cop saga hits a confident new stride in Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

As a direct follow-up to Bad Boys for Life, Bad Boys: Ride or Die picks up one year later. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and writers Chris Bremner and Will Beall return alongside directors Adil & Bilall, who infuse the series with next level action inspired by series creator Michael Bay. The film opens with Smith’s Detective Mike Lowrey running late to his own wedding because his partner/”soulmate” Detective Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) has an unhealthy sweet tooth that gets the boys in a pickle which, ultimately, results in a medical emergency for Lawrence’s character.

Outrageous hilarity ensues until the boys’ late Captain Howard is unjustly accused of a lifetime of drug-related crimes. To clear their captain’s name, Mike and Marcus must enlist the help of Mike’s estranged, imprisoned, assassin son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), to connect the dots. There is a bit of awkward father-son bonding between Mike and Armando that feels stilted but not as forced as Smith’s cover of “Just The Two of Us.”

When the boys themselves are framed by a ruthless cartel mercenary (Eric Dane), they must go on the run to stay one step ahead of the cartel, bounty hunters, and Captain Howard’s US Marshall daughter Judy (Rhea Seehorn, doing her best Tommy Lee Jones from The Fugitive), who holds a grudge against Armando for the death of her father and is searching every farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse for the Bad Boys. The film features an energetic supporting cast that includes returning AMMO officers Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, and Paola Nuñez, as well as a brief-but-scene stealing cameo by Tiffany Haddish. The cast of Bad Boys: Ride or Die also includes Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith and Ioan Gruffudd.

It’s remarkable that the Bad Boys saga is 30 years old. The first entry was released in 1995, when the two leads were headlining their own successful television sitcoms; Smith on NBC’s “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air” and Lawrence on FOX’s “Martin.” Despite an 8-year wait for a sequel (2003’s Bad Boys II) and another 17-year delay until the third chapter (the mistitled Bad Boys for Life in 2020), the fourth film in the franchise only took two years to release. The mixed up titles of the third and fourth films serve as a case study in shortsightedness. While the series missed the opportunity to stylize the third film as Bad Boys: Ride or Di3 and the fourth as Bad Boys 4 Life, it can be corrected with a solid (and aptly titled) fifth outing, assuming these pair of films are part of a new continuing trilogy in the series.

You would think that after four films spanning three decades the series would start showing its age; however, thanks to its characters’ charming chemistry and its directors’ stylish cinematic flair, enthusiastic fan interest has not slowed down. The only signs that the boys’ saga is aging is evident in Lawrence’s slowed line delivery, which has sparked concerns over the actor’s health considering his public battles with exhaustion in the past. While Lawrence maintains that he is “healthy as hell,” the actor’s more subdued, Zen-like performance actually fits in line with his character’s health struggles.

Bad Boys: Ride or Die also serves as a big part of Smith’s “Good Will” PR tour and even features a well-timed joke addressing Smith’s infamous Oscars slap that will leave audiences grinning. Although, the best part of the movie is an incredible fan-service action scene that was met with a round of applause for finally redeeming and putting respect on the name of Marcus’ nerdy Marine son-in-law, Reggie (Dennis Greene).

Thanks to a pair of ambitious directors, charismatic leads, and self-aware jokes, the edge-of-your seat action and outrageous comedy of Bad Boys: Ride or Die absolutely slaps. 3.5/5

Rated R with a running time of 1 hour, 55 minutes, Bad Boys: Ride or Die opens in theaters June 7, 2024.