Bad Boys For Life finally reunited the famous cop duo of Will Smith’s Mike Lowery and Martin Lawrence’s Marcus Burnett, and it was much better than expected – getting a lot of things right in the procedure. The film proved to be a very long time in the making, arriving 17 years following Michael Bay’s Bad Boys II. The first two films, a lot of exciting, were not groundbreaking, along with the franchise looked like it had relevance for any material two years on.
The first Bad Boys was Michael Bay’s feature directorial debut and the film introducing Smith and Lawrence’s iconic bromance. It was an entertaining reinvention of the buddy-cop genre. Also, Bad Boys 2 was an explosive, testosterone-fuelled sequel eight-years-later. Part of what makes those first two movies so attractive though is they’re ancient in their character – quintessential 90s and early action spectacles. They’re products of their time in the way. Until only recently, even Will Smith was no more a bankable box-office lure. Therefore a modern spin on the Bad Boys franchise consistently looked to be an idea that wouldn’t work with a more recent update.
Almost two years later, this time with no Michael Bay is directing, and after many manufacturing difficulties, the odds weren’t stacked in its favor. But with new directors in the form of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah arrived a renewed energy. Also, Bad Boys 3 was shown to be a significant surprise. Not only can it be a fantastic movie, but it’s arguably the best movie in the Bad Boys trilogy, obtaining many things right across the way.
THE ACTION IS MORE CONTAINED THAN ERRATIC
Michael Bay is a filmmaker who is famous for his Bayhem style – explosive, chaotic action set-pieces. While he was still coming into his own as a manager with the very first Bad Boys, Bay’s direction of activity – even back then – was not necessarily tight. But the action from the first was not right because it had been overdone, but rather because it had been choppy and generic. Bad Boys 2 mainly ups the ante from the sequel – Bay has been given more free rein and began to find his voice as a storyteller here. Bay’s movies are renowned for their explosions, and Bad Boys 2 had more of this signature Bay-isms viewers have come to know him. But the strings, entertaining and certainly while helmed, were erratic and cluttered.
Bad Boys 3 improves with this with the activity that feels more fluid and contained. For starters, it is coherent. You can discover what’s going on since the camera moves aren’t frantic and incomprehensible. The choreography is a great deal tighter also. The activity here feels a lot more dialed down; while the movie had a $90 million budget, this was smaller than the $130 million of Bad Boys 2.
In an interview with Slash Film, directors El Arbi and Fallah talked about the smaller action set-pieces and sticking to practicality for them when possible. They wanted the audience to”feel the danger,” stating, “we didn’t have the funds of a Marvel movie, so we needed to be quite creative with all the resources we had. ” The activity certainly echoes this with zippy, included sequences that don’t feel as inconsistent or sprawling since the first two films. Every series helps the narrative and has a goal and is done in an enjoyable method. It’s also creatively helmed, with each set-piece throwing something new to the mix to make the battle more memorable. The ending of Bad Boys 3 is put in a single place, which retains the tension and bets all feeling far more intimate.
IT GETS MARCUS AND MIKE’S STORIES RIGHT
While the action and comedy of the Bad Boys movies are high, it is the dynamic between Smith and Lawrence’s Lowery and Burnett underpinning the entire trilogy that makes it soar. Their lively camaraderie elevated the very first movie, and the script for Bad Boys 2 made them an even funnier pairing – thanks in part to Seth Rogen’s touching up of the sequel. The screenplays understood that their comparison as people was what made their banter so snappy and unique.
Bad Boys For Life continues that tendency. Taking into consideration, the movie takes place long, and the characterization might have felt contrived. But it appreciates their lives 17 years on. They still have the same qualities that made them so likable in the first place, though it also understands they’re old and distinct. The storyline focuses on Mike’s arc, particularly as someone caught by his past and trying to hold on to his glory days. Retirement has been moved on by Marcus in coming to terms with the fact he has more time than in 30, and lots of Mike’s battle is. The grappling with his mortality is the best route to take because of his character from Bad Boys For Life.
Bad Boys 3 is a much more personal narrative, and going deeper with that adds humankind to Mike that his character was lacking previously. Marcus was always a sensible person; he is enjoying his or her retirement arc and focuses on returning to the job to help protect his very best friend. It’s also the perfect story for his character, who has always been the group’s straight-man. A good deal of time is spent focusing on topics of friendship, family members, old mortality and age, and, for these two cops that have been in the past through hell, it’s a suitable direction. After all, they can’t be young forever. The film respects this and gives them very personal stories that this time around that offers a look. In doing so, also, it provides the film with a real backbone.
IT DOESN’T FORGET WHAT MADE THE ORIGINALS SO SPECIAL
Despite Michael Bay not being included at the project – creatively, anyway, as Bay still cameoed – Bad Boys 3 understands that which created his first two films so unique. This is the franchise that began his entire career. However, new blood was needed, and it is part of the reason why the movie has been received so positively. So did the franchise just as he needed to move on. That being said, the original film was cherished for their enjoyable action humor and the interplay between Lowery and Burnett. Bad Boys For Life takes these components and embellishes them: the activity is slicker; the interaction is sharper; the comedy is funnier.
Screenwriters Joe Carnahan and Fallah, and el Arbi, Peter Craig, and Chris Bremner understand this world. They’re fans. They know what makes the originals of Bay successful. They pay homage to Bay’s first two movies while making sure this movie is unique and enjoyable in its own right. In their Slash Film interview, they talked about needing”to have that nostalgia feel from the movie, and at the same time, we wanted to put more emotion into those characters. They are now older, and there battle between them, with the simple fact that they are on different paths. Only going deeper; that is what we added new to it.” Bad Boys For Life is still very much a Bad Boys film, through and through. It elevates them and takes the best parts of the first two films. With a fourth Bad Boys movie in the functions, let’s hope the franchise continues that strong.
