“Bad Boys: Ride or Die” Movie Review by Rafy Mediavilla (@Rmediavilla)
This Summer, the world’s favorite Bad Boys are back with their iconic mix of edge-of-your seat action and outrageous comedy but this time with a twist: Miami’s finest are now on the run.
What worked:
In my book this film is a class in the technique of cinematography, camera handling, and the use of practical effects and the art of choreography. I love how in the action sequences they played with technical equipment that puts the viewer in the shoes of the protagonist, with this first person perspective.
The performance of Martin Lawrence playing the iconic role of Marcus Burnett where he verdally overshadows Will Smith in many moments, as his character within the physical comedy is very grounded to the reality he is living. As long as Mike Lowrey continues to behave as his touch of immaturity that I admit distinguishes him as a character in the franchise. Lawrence’s physical comedy shines, the jocular moments as Marcus’ arc unfolds in this installment is what makes this story entertaining from start to finish.
Like every film within the Bad Boys franchise the action sequences are what set it apart, and I dare say this film has the most epic, and most gruesome action sequences in the Bad Boys franchise. Shooting scenes, and fist fights and fist fights, and even fights with an albino crocodile. That said, who stole the show in terms of action scenes was the actor Dennis Greene who plays Reggie, I don’t want to go into details, but this scene alone, and maybe the albino crocodile scene are reason enough to enjoy this movie in the theater.
What did not work:
Truly its story to me felt totally forced, as if this movie was made in order to simply bring audiences to the theater to simply watch an action movie. Something we see constantly with The Fast And The Furious movies, and yes I’m sure this is something that is needed in theaters right now more than ever, but the script is really lazy and you can tell they didn’t even put in the work to write it.
In essence this sequel starts where “Bad Boys For Life” (2020) ended, where Lowrey’s son is accused of killing Captain Howard. They try to touch on other themes as the story develops such as corruption in the police, love relationships between co-workers, the relationship between father and son and how to create that trust between these two understand, but truly all this is lost between the action sequences, and perhaps that was what they wanted to do from the beginning.
In conclusion:
Although its story leaves a lot to be desired, I have to admit this is one of my favorite movies within the Bad Boys franchise maybe I even dare to put it above its original, simply because of the epic action scenes and the excellent acting work of Martin Lawrence. If anything, if you are a fan of this franchise, this installment is a must see movie, even if it’s a weekend with your friends, because it will leave you all with adrenaline high.
