Bad Boys For Life

Let´s go back in time, to the year of 1995. These years were some of the best years of my youth, since i was in a school class that i loved. I would have to say that those years were the best school years i ever had. During the year of 1995 i remember several things that made an impact this year. American rock band Faith No More released their 5th studio album known as King For A Day...Fool For A Lifetime. I used to play this album a lot, and especially the song Evidence ( best rock ballad of 1995 ? I belive it is ). I would not say this is their best album, but they had some great songs on this album and frontman Mike Patton delivered some powerful vocals. American rock band Garbage released their debut album, simply called Garbage. In my opinion, this is the best rock album of 1995, and their best album ever. I know some people would say that Version 2.0 ( released in 1998 ) is even better, but i still feel that Garbage did an even stronger album with their debut record. But the summer of 1995 would become special, because of the realease of one major action film. And that film is of course Bad Boys. Directed by Michael Bay, and starring comedians Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, this was the perfect summer box office excperience for everyone, and i really had a good time in the company of Bad Boys. This film had everything you could wish for in a cop action buddy comedy, such as great characters, funny dialogue, great looking action scenes and a great music soundtrack as well. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence did a really good job, portraying 2 cops with very different opinions. 8 years later we would get the sequel Bad Boys 2. It´s a fun sequel, with some great action scenes, but it´s not as good as the first film. I did not expect to see the Bad Boys return after so many years, but here we are in 2020 with a third film. Is this the best Bad Boys sequel so far, or should they have left this franchise alone for good ?

Isabel Aretas ( Kate del Castillo ), widow of the cartel kingpin Benito, escapes from a Mexican prison with the aid from her son Armando Aretas ( Jacob Scipio ). Isabel sends Armando to Miami, tasking him with recovering a substantial stash of money his father Benito had hidden, as well as assassinating the people we were responsible forhis father´s arrest and eventual death in prison. Isabel demands that Armando kill Miami detective Mike Lowrey ( Will Smith ). In Miami, Mike accompanies his partner Marcus Burnett ( Martin Lawrence ) to the birth of his first grandson. Desiring to spend more time with family, Marcus tell Mike he intends to retire. This is not what Mike was expecting to hear, as he wants to continue working with Marcus. During a party celebrating Marcus grandson, Mike is shot down by Armando and left in a coma for months. Armando continues to assassinate other targets, seeking revenge for his father. Mike is slowly recovering, and he is determined to seek revenge. But Marcus is not on board of his plans, so Mike has no choice but to continue with his plans. With a deadly drug cartel planning more assassins, will Marcus change his mind and go back to his old school ways ?

If you were worried that this franchise would be dead, then i have some good news for you. Watching a film such as Bad Boys For Life brings back emotions from the 90´s. You got the characters that we love return on the big screen, and i have to say they work better this time than in Bad Boys 2. Of course they are a little bit older, but the chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence is what makes this film so much fun. Especially Martin Lawrence as Detective Marcus, he is no longer interested in chasing bad guys like they used to, and he is trying to enjoy his life with his family instead of firing guns and beating up criminals. I think it was a really good idea to show another portrait of Marcus, in this film. He recently had a grandson, and he has a different view on life than Detective Mike, who still want to be the rough cop who clean up the streets. Will Smith brings several funny scenes with Martin Lawrence, and you realise why you have missed these guys after so many years. I have to mention the character Captain Conrad Howard, played by actor Joe Pantoliano. He is still just as funny as he have always been in the previous Bad Boys films. One of the characters i feel worked better than i expected is the bad guy Armando, played by actor Jacob Scipio. I am curious to see what he will do next in his career. Directors Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah ( who directed the Belgian crime film Black ) have managed to make a sequel that works better than i expected, and somehow they found a way to bring back the Michael Bay feeling that we all recognize in a surprising way. You get plenty of car chases, gun shootings, and you know that this film is made for an audience that appreciated the previous films. Bad Boys For Life does not break any new ground, but that´s not the meaning of this film. This film is supposed to bring back the Bad Boys franchise back on it´s feet, and i have to say that it does in a positive way. If you are just looking for a good time in the cinema, then you should see this film and just have some fun. Bad Boys For Life is like coming home after a long time away from home, you realise all that you missed and leaves a satisfying feeling. 

Rating: DDD