Bad Boys: Ride Or Die Review: Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Bring The Magic Back To The Action-Comedy Franchise

What is the "Bad Boys" franchise, exactly? It's a question worth contemplating, given the unusual history of the series. For one thing, the franchise is nearly 30 years old, and yet the latest entry, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," is only the fourth film in the series. For another, each film to date has had a radically different identity: the original 1995 "Bad Boys" saw Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, and director Michael Bay taking their first steps into feature films together, while 2003's "Bad Boys II" is essentially an insane victory lap, with the trio celebrating their stardom while making what amounts to avant garde art in the guise of a summer action movie.

2020's "Bad Boys for Life" saw Bay hand over the directing reins to the young and hungry directing duo of Adil & Bilall (Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah), whose work in their native Belgium (especially 2015's "Black") impressed series producer Jerry Bruckheimer. The film also, naturally, had to address the large chunk of time elapsed between "Bad Boys II" and "Bad Boys for Life," taking a look at odd couple Miami detectives Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) as they acknowledged their mortality. It behaved as a fitting trilogy capper, becoming the most emotional "Bad Boys" entry, but it still set up a sequel. "Ride or Die" is that sequel, and more than any previous "Bad Boys," it has both a stronger sense of what a "Bad Boys" movie is as well as makes a great case for why this franchise deserves to continue. To put it bluntly: this movie is a blast, a perfect combination of action, comedy, and heart, and it's so vibrant that it makes the vintage "Bad Boys" franchise feel like a brand new series.

Unlike the more episodic first two films, "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" picks up several narrative and thematic threads from "Bad Boys for Life." At the start of the film, Mike and Marcus continue to experience landmark moments of their middle age; longtime playboy Mike finds himself finally tying the knot with a new character, Christine (Melanie Liburd), while Marcus undergoes a near-death experience (recalling Mike's near-fatal shooting in the last movie), suffering a heart attack during Mike's wedding, an event which gives him an invigorating belief in the afterlife and his own immortality,

All of that takes a back seat when a mysterious mercenary (Eric Dane) begins leaving bodies in Miami, along with evidence that the late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) had been involved with drug cartels. Although the new Captain (and Mike's ex), Rita Secada (Paola Núñez) believes the evidence of Howard's corruption, Howard begins sending posthumous pre-recorded messages to Mike and Marcus, leading them to evidence of a departmental conspiracy so they can stop the bad guys and clear his name. Once they're onto the baddies, the duo enlist the assistance of Mike's estranged convict son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), and soon find themselves framed by the conspirators, with none other than Howard's US Marshal daughter, Judy (Rhea Seehorn) on their trail — not to mention an open contract on their heads, with the entirety of Miami's underground looking to collect.

Where the first two "Bad Boys" films prioritized Mike and Marcus' odd-couple shenanigans over character development and plot, "Ride or Die" strikes a winning balance between the soap-opera elements of "Bad Boys for Life" and the crazed mayhem of "Bad Boys II," allowing the film to be more grounded yet retain the potential to go wild at any moment.

The "Bad Boys" series understandably has an issue getting out of Michael Bay's shadow. Fortunately, Adil & Bilall bring their A-game, proving that the franchise is about much more than Bayhem. Where their work on "Bad Boys for Life" felt, at times, like they were doing an impression of Bay under the guise of keeping the series stylistically consistent, "Ride or Die" feels wholly their own.

The magic that the directing duo seem to have cracked with this film involves keeping the movie stylized while never letting things get away from them. Instead of piling on set piece after set piece, "Ride or Die" keeps things at an even keel, occasionally letting sequences pop (like a spectacular plane crash sequence in the middle of the film) without overloading the movie, the better to take care of the ensemble of characters in it (which includes Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig's returning team members). Smith and Lawrence's chemistry is in full bloom here, and they're as game as ever when it comes to their extended on-screen riffs (especially in a scene which, yes, obliquely references the infamous Oscars slap incident), yet Adil & Bilall never stop the film cold for these moments, either.

All of this is to say that when Adil & Bilall unleash mayhem during the movie's final act (which is set, naturally, inside a derelict amusement park), it makes for a joyous release. They may actually one-up Bay here, as the use of drone cameras during the final action sequence feels like the filmmakers were definitely taking notes during Bay's "Ambulance." "Ride or Die" proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that it's a literal crime we're not able to see the duo's shelved "Batgirl" movie; their work is just that good.

Perhaps what's most encouraging about "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" is that it doesn't fall into the legacy sequel trap that "Bad Boys for Life" seemed to set it up for. Where the younger, hipper officers of AMMO in that film made Mike and Marcus wary of continuing to suit up at all, "Ride or Die" is never concerned with any passing of the torch. That's not to say it doesn't continue exploring the issue of legacy; quite the contrary, as one of the major arcs of the film involves Mike and Marcus coming to new understandings of what their lives are for.

As a franchise, the "Bad Boys" films seem to be in conversation with the "Fast Saga," which is only fair, given that the latter definitely borrowed the flashiness and style-conscious aspects of the former. Similar to the "Fast" films, "Ride or Die" makes the extended family (literal and figurative) of Mike and Marcus major players in the story, and the soap opera begun by "for Life" continues here, with characters switching loyalties and/or demonstrating their camaraderie in between explosions.

Unlike the folks from the "Fast" films, however, the Bad Boys aren't elevated to near-super heroic status; Smith, Lawrence, Adil & Bilall keep Mike and Marcus winningly human. They're adult men who suffer from heart attacks and panic attacks as much as they leap over cars and make impossible shots with their pistols. That special, magic mixture of grounded heart with over-the-top action and comedy is what makes a "Bad Boys" film, and make no mistake: "Ride or Die" is not only a great "Bad Boys" film, it's also a top-tier action comedy.

/Film Rating: 8 out of 10

"Bad Boys: Ride or Die" opens in theaters June 7, 2024.