Bad Boys: Ride or Die review: Fourth instalment in Will Smith franchise sets the scene for yet another film
![Martin Lawrence and Will Smith in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-14906374/b70982efbdad3e85a099bc5453074758f84b39dc-16x9-x506y0w2827h1590.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Of all the possible outcomes from watching the fourth instalment of the Bad Boys franchise, generating interest in a future fifth instalment was not something this critic ever considered.
But here we are.
This isn’t about the on-screen appeal of Will Smith, which once had seemed evergreen, but in his post-slap era feels fraught at best.
And it certainly isn’t because of the performance by Martin Lawrence, who legitimately seems more at risk of heart disease than being knocked off by the baddies.
In fact, this actually becomes a storyline in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, which is one of the many examples of the film leaning into, and subtly subverting, the franchise’s well-worn tropes.
Sun-drenched, slo-mo shots? Check. Panoramas of Miami? Check. These are the hallmarks of the first two movies, and very much in the oeuvre, such as it is, of director Michael Bay.
While the latest film honours that history — and features a brief but hilarious cameo from Bay himself — it also offers a distinct aesthetic.
This aesthetic, from the directing duo of Adil and Bilall, is an evolution of what they started in the previous film in the franchise, 2020’s Bad Boys For Life.
It’s certainly not for everyone.
With more Dutch tilt than someone who’s spent a little too long in one of those Amsterdam coffee shops, the film deploys unusual camera positions and perspectives, and at times feels like a first-person-shooter video game.
![Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-14906374/ce09a40d5532c85eccf001839ff7ccbe4c9d1aee.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
The viewing experience is not always pleasant and there’s a conceptual element here that feels decidedly out of place given the subject matter.
When Lawrence’s Marcus suffers the aforementioned heart attack, and has a near-death astral experience, it’s a little overcooked.
And the plot — that is, that someone is trying to posthumously frame their beloved police captain — doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
But there is something irrepressibly enjoyable about the chemistry between Marcus and Smith’s uber cool Mike Lowrey that glosses over any narrative inconsistencies.
At least, enough to get you to the next action sequence, which, under Adil and Bilall, are as good as anything the franchise has produced thus far.
![Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in Bad Boys: Ride or Die. Sony Pictures Entertainment](https://images.thewest.com.au/publication/C-14906374/db7666557b6ed039ba04c3445165e862fa492fbd.jpg?imwidth=810&impolicy=wan_v3)
Yes, it’s only one Vin Diesel line about family away from being a Fast & Furious movie, but the continued success of those movies suggests that’s not a bad place to be.
And the film does an excellent job of allowing other characters to shine, from Marcus’ son-in-law Reggie (Dennis Greene) to Mike’s son, who we met in the last film, Armando (Jacob Scipio).
With these additional contributions, the franchise has earned itself at least one more go-around.
3 Stars
Starring: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Tiffany Haddish, Vanessa Hudgens, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd
Rating: MA15+
In Cinemas: Now
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