While not brand new to the scene, directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (collectively known as Adil & Bilall) gained widespread recognition for directing 2020’s Bad Boys for Life, taking over for Michael Bay. It was decently received by critics, with audiences going crazy for it, leading it to finish as the fourth highest-grossing film of the year.
With the sustained success of the franchise plus returning stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, hype and expectations were sure to be high for Bad Boys: Ride or Die. So how does it fare?
Bad Boys: Ride or Die Plot
After their late former Captain (Joe Pantoliano) is framed and accused of corruption, detectives Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) work to clear his name. But as they grow closer to exposing the truth, they get framed themselves and must go on the run and work outside the law to bring down the real culprits.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die Critique
Bad Boys: Ride or Die still features all the hallmarks of the franchise. Adil & Bilall took what Michael Bay started and ran with it in Bad Boys for Life. And here, they take things up another notch (or two), for better or worse. The action is bigger than ever, and that’s where some of the biggest highlights come from. There are three or four standout sequences that could all stake their claim as the best part of the movie. That’s the good, along with the expected chemistry between Smith and Lawrence.
And while those aspects keep the movie moving, and allow you to have fun with it, there’s a lot more going on that drags it down. To start, the plot. Right from the get-go, we know Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is being framed. Immediately, a huge potential spot for tension and intrigue is taken off the table. I’m not saying Howard has to be guilty of what he’s accused of. But at least leave the possibility open that he could be guilty.
The rest of the story is pretty messy too, trying to tie in pieces of all three preceding movies. It’s incredibly forced and wholly unnecessary to the plot here. It mostly gets forgotten about later on, which helps. But then it makes even more confusing why it was even attempted in the first place. It also attempts to introduce new characters that we’re supposed to care about or feel some sort of connection to. But they’re all given the bare minimum, that even caring a little is asking a lot.
This could have been salvaged some if Adil & Bilall and screenwriters Chris Bremner and Will Beall included some genuine twists or surprises for the audience. And to their credit, I suppose, they tried, but went with the most obvious and predictable choices at every opportunity. I’m not asking for something like Keyser Soze or The Sixth Sense, but at least make it seem like you put some effort into it.
Adil & Bilall also got a little overeager with some of the action. While overall, the action is easily the highlight of the movie, it gets to be a bit much at times. The worst offender is the drone use. Michael Bay had some insanely creative and fun drone work in 2022’s Ambulance, and the directing team clearly took inspiration from that film. But it’s closer to inducing nausea or giving you a headache than it is to elicit laughs or cheers.
The Bad Boys series has always been action-comedy, and Ride or Die has the most jokes of the four movies. Unfortunately it’s also the least funny, with a lot more misses than hits. Lawrence’s Marcus character in particular is butchered early on. He becomes a complete caricature, making several of the would-be laughs “cringeworthy, cover your eyes” moments instead. That lightens up eventually, but the damage is done.
In Conclusion
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is more of a “fun” movie than a “good” movie. Smith and Lawrence have great chemistry, as we’ve come to expect. It has some truly entertaining, creative, and exhilarating action sequences. But with an overly predictable plot, messy story, and more misses than hits on its jokes, it’s the weakest in the franchise.
That being said, I may end up being in the minority on this one. The crowd I watched it with was loving it, laughing and cheering when I wasn’t. I hope that’s the more common response and this goes bananas at the box office.
5/10
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