The Bad Boys are back! Fan favorite cop duo Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett have made their return to movie screens after four years. Along with them comes new baggage on the table after the drastic events from the previous film Bad Boys for Life.
A simple rundown of this film is about conquering your own storms that begins with a comedic and uncomfortable calmness coming to a short stop as their boss Captain Howard is posthumously framed for being a dirty cop involved with the cartel. This threat leads Lowrey and Burnett to prove their friend’s innocence when he cannot defend himself, testing them to balance both work and every changing personal lives.
Having new additions to their personal lives really elevated their arc and gave a fresh perspective on a familiar franchise with familiar characters and actors. The connection of lore from the previous films represents the consistency needed in a franchise but also addresses something new in these characters’ lives which was executed well.
An example is Mike’s relationship with his son and along with having him get married at the begging of the movie fully moving away from the bachelor image.
In their own way Mike and Marcus have their own storm to tackle along with another to take down together. Marcus’ battle with healthy versus unhealthy eating habits gets teased early on but he has a heart attack not longer after. While in a coma he is at a beach and sees Captain Howard it isn’t his time yet and from the heart attack to the coma the cinematography was beautiful because they put audiences in Marcus’ perspective. Of course though when he wakes up he believes he is invincible and his arc is tackled in an unserious manner for the rest film.
It was interesting because their individual struggles were handled differently at different times which was neat. When one was dealing with his own problems the other was there to help guide him through managing it while trying to help their friend and boss. In Mike’s case he is now in position to be a faithful and protective husband and father. Together both men are tested in place where their personal and work lives come head to head in an unfortunate way and allows them to tackle their own demons and coming to terms that a lot will change in life and how to come to terms with those changes.
Within the film community there was speculation of movies to rely on for box-office success and this movie was included only when the industry’s picks to “save” the box office failed to do so and struggled within the first weekend. Of course the reasoning behind reluctance is due to a particular group in the industry feeling a certain way towards Will Smith. Despite Hollywood and critic efforts to make the public not like and not support Smith these results represent the opposite.
If anything a great number of people have showed the actor love and support not long after the slap. I had found myself really enjoying this film a lot the first and second time and a lot of people feel the same. As of June 25th 2024 it made $147,002,067 at the domestic box office and $289,202,067 worldwide with international box office being 49.2% of that.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die teaches its characters and audiences how to navigate over a bump in the road whether it’d be Mike and Marcus dealing with changing life styles and being outcasted and how it reflects real life with Smith learning how to bounce back from the 2022 Academy Awards (who still got his Oscar) and this film being the underdog with hoping it fails.
It is great to see him bounce back after being somewhat blacklisted from the industry and he is in a position where he can mock himself as there is a scene in the movie where Marcus slaps Mike a lot. With that being said, if your looking for a good time with heart felt moments and great storytelling this movie is definitely a strong contender for movie of the summer.
Top Photo Caption:
Will Smith and Martin Lawrence star in Columbia Pictures BAD BOYS: RIDE OR DIE. Photo by: Frank Masi
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