Bad Boys for Life

Di un fin de semana a la trilogía y subo la calificación de la misma a cuatro estrellas. En el cine me molestaron los visuales digitales baratos de las escenas de acción, que no eran llamativos en el televisor grande. Faltan las marcas registradas y la singularidad compositiva de Bay, pero teniendo en cuenta el guión de esta película, las marcas y los efectos visuales de las películas anteriores eran realmente lo único que las hacía interesantes. Especialmente el número dos. El episodio tres es, con diferencia, el mejor, ya que incorpora con buen gusto motivos históricos, trabaja de forma inteligente y simpática con los personajes, incluidos los protagonistas del equipo de policía y los característicos malos, y también se burla de sí mismo («¡This is some serious telenovela shit!»). Y el nuevo y fresco espíritu de equipo evoca el comienzo de una nueva era de Bad Boys, que creo que con el tiempo no va a ir al final como en la serie Fast & Furious. Al menos mientras Arbi y Fallah estén al mando. (22.01.2020)

Will Smith is still cool as hell, Lawrence is surprisingly entertaining and funny, and the amount of action is pleasantly reasonable. Towards the end, however, the screenwriters sadly turned it into a stupid Mexican telenovela. Literally. (07.04.2020)

An unbelievably pleasant surprise. The directors found a way how to film a high quality nineties action movie with a contemporary feeling and in some places even an innovative camera during the action scenes. I almost have a feeling that this is one of the few comebacks from the nineties which was really great. The story is fine, the action is great and with the performances it got back to time of the first two movies. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are even after 20 years the same cool guys with great lines that the viewer enjoys a lot. One of the biggest surprises that Hollywood had in store for me in the last few years. (24.09.2020)

I didn't believe it could be really good. I didn't really hope it would be. So I ended up having a hell of a time at the cinema. Bad Boys for Life is an excellent action comedy with the classic Jerry Bruckheimer signature that not only matches the previous installments, but in many ways surpasses them. True, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are not as imaginative and aggressive in the action scenes as Michael Bay used to be, but they easily fit into the "above average Hollywood craftsmanship" box and have enough ideas to keep the audience entertained during the shootouts and chases. Far more important here, however, is the humour and, above all, the perfectly natural chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The two clearly enjoyed their roles immensely, and they thoroughly enjoy returning after all these years. Their dialogue exchanges, bantering and mocking each other feels natural and genuine, but most of all, it's genuinely fun and funny, and you suddenly realise that they had no idea how much they had missed Mike and Marcus. Bad Boys for Life is the kind of honest action comedy that only the most optimistic could hope for. And despite a few slightly over-the-top twists, I'll admit that I don't really know what Bruckheimer and his crew should have done to make it better. This movie made me terribly happy. (15.01.2020)

A fine, Nineties-style Bruckheimer-esque flick with all of the strengths and weaknesses that we haven’t seen for a long time. Furthermore, it's a sequel that is, within limits, not likably not over the top (except for the scene with the armed sidecar). With its style and scale, the duo of music-video directors definitely come closer to the first movie than to the crazy second one. If there had not been pointless filler and the slow paced middle sequences resulting from it and rather slow action, there wouldn't be much to fault them for apart from trying to copy early Bay (albeit successfully). But the most important thing is that, surprisingly, this is not the worst movie of the trilogy. Taking into account that the main roles are played by two 50-year-old actors (one is fat and the other is past his prime) after almost two decades, that is encouraging as well as surprising. (17.01.2020)

The underdog turned out to be a January hit, both financially and critically, and Bad Boys 3 is definitely the best part of the whole trilogy and a nice start to 2020. Will Smith is back in great form and Martin Lawrence is back to his usual bubbly self, but his humour is great again. I was worried that without Michael Bay the action wouldn't have any bite, but Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are very confident and ambitious in the action scenes, helped by some great cinematography, a large dose of violence and plenty of interesting ideas. The bad guys are good too, especially the for me unknown Jacob Scipio, who does a solid job, and his mother played by Kate del Castillo is also good. I must also praise the music and the very fast pace, where action alternates with humour and there is no time to watch the clock, let alone think. Great fun that has style and flair. 8/10. (29.01.2020)

I didn't want to return to this overcooked version of Miami, but the new creators not only torched the pond but the whole series. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah actually made the best installment. It's still doesn't make it too far without an infantile line, and more than one argument between the main duo takes several times longer than a joke should require, but it's still a much better estimate of what the audience can endure, and that level characterizes both the screenplay and the action twists. I also enjoy the main, overused twist, which may come to some as a surprise, but it simply suits my tastes that a seemingly invisible antagonist can suddenly turn into a respectable opponent. (23.12.2020)

In its fourth instalment, a gerontic reunion held years later, the iconic buddy-movie series Lethal Weapon set out on the path of a sitcom or television genre show for middle-aged people. With its protagonists a decade older, Bad Boys makes a bee line to the soap-opera genre for seniors. On the one hand, it is fully conscious of that fact, which adds the necessary exaggeration to the film. On the other hand, the exaggerated soap-operatic moments of kitschy melodrama will paradoxically remain in the viewer’s memory longer than the diligently constructed action sequences, which are undermined by the need to digitally insert the aging stars into sequences with physically fit young people. (05.01.2021)

The ending is like something out of a Mexican telenovela on a (good) trip. The Bad Boys are back for one last escapade, but surprisingly it seems like more of a toned-down version of the first one with emphasis placed on the story. The effective storyline around Mike is brimming with death. Smith really needed this role again, which might well restart his career. And Lawrence will never land a better role. The AMMO team is unexpectedly fine and the chemistry between the old and the new works unexpectedly well. Even the new directors know their stuff. They can’t yet compete with the big boss, but they have style. And Bay’s cameo was also good to see. P.S. Paola Nuñez is awesome. (01.02.2020)

The best episode. A consistent, funny and very entertaining sequel that makes sense script-wise and doesn't offend with its action. Understandably, it lacks Michael Bay's signature style, so there's a lot less banging and iconic shots. But the unknown director duo have come up with a playful sequel that makes the most of the bare minimum and everything they touch works. Whether Bruckheimer held it together is hard to say, but it doesn't really matter. Bad Boys 4? I’m up. (19.01.2020)

I was hoping it would be good, but I wasn't expecting it to be that great. It's an action comedy without restraint, but unlike the previous films, it has an important admixture of fatality and impressive poignancy, really. The Expendables (2 and 3) could learn from this film how to mix and serve everything properly, how to make a comeback for the old gang (and a farewell party), how to introduce the new young team, and how to effectively have them work with the old without clashing. Mike and Marcus certainly deserved another movie, as did Will Smith and Martin Lawrence (he impressed me in particular with how well the more serious role suited him). The story is surprising but logical at the same time, the action scenes are just right without Michael Bay, and since it was all about flashbacks, I was very pleased to see the return of Mark Mancina's original theme music. (22.01.2020)

Did anybody really need this cold shower from the 90s? Personally, I’m a fan of bringing back and dusting something that’s no longer very cool, but I don’t think the deliberately sarcastic reflection of the megalomaniac and dumb Bruckheimer era of the third Bad Boys is particularly original or refreshing. The best are the moments when it doesn’t take itself seriously and makes fun at the fact that the protagonists are over the hill (especially the bloated Lawrence). But they have to squeeze a sorrowful personal story that I didn’t like at all and that undermined the potential of entertainment that the return of these simple and likeable heroes from an another era in Hollywood had. Am I to understand that there can no longer be proper, straightforward action flicks without a pointless dramatic arc? But it’s more cohesive and sharper than the second one, no doubt. 60% (02.04.2020)

Vaya, esto es un culebrón latinoamericano. Y no lo excusa el hecho de que el guión hace que los personajes lo admitan a sabiendas en el transcurso de la película. Para mí, la tercera Bad Boys for Life es una continuación bastante desordenada de las dos entregas anteriores, con Michael Bay francamente falto de escenas de acción, y un cameo bastante divertido apenas lo compensa. El final es simplemente un cliffhanger total digno solo de la serie A todo gas, mientras que siempre consideré a Bad Boys como una franquicia un poco más sólida. (03.04.2020)

One of the defining characteristics of an action movie, and why we enjoy it in the first place, is the willy-nilly ruthlessness, crudeness, and ignorance of its characters. You don't do a car chase without a third party being threatened in the process, you don't do a shootout in the streets without bullets flying past the ears of innocent civilians. The essential strength of Bad Boys II was the exploitation of this feature. Combined with the breathtaking action, the stupid, cheesy, but always spiced-up dialogue, and the emphasis on the rich and down-to-earth spirit of Miami, it was the definition of guilty pleasure. Bad Boys For Life refuses to build on this approach, fearing that it would be too problematic today. And with that, the franchise ceased to exist. All that's been created is another digitally re-colored B-movie with 60 fps action scenes that make it barely watchable. Smith and Lawrence, moving in different circles over the past 18 years, no longer have any spark between them; Miami, shot here mostly at night, is not one of the leads as it was before (those studio interiors and exteriors look awfully familiar); and if its interchangeability wasn't enough, AGAIN the film can't do without the protagonists now having to be part of a whole team. As an illustration of how the landscape for action movies has changed in twenty years, this is perfect. I reject this vegan Bad Boys in which every scene is a compromise of everything with everything. (14.04.2020)