Bad Boys: Ride or Die - Theatrical Review

It's not hard to see the parallels between Marcus and Mike (Lawrence and Smith)  of Bad Boys and Riggs and Murtaugh (Gibson and Glover) of Lethal Weapon. It's even more apparent in their respective fourth installments where age and family become a key factor. That said, Bad Boys: Ride or Die still packs heavy action and violence at every turn with their famous brand of humor, while giving more heart and emotion than the previous three films combined for a highly entertaining and wonderful sendoff for the pair.

Nobody knew how well Michael Bay's first Bad Boys film would do but Smith and Lawrence's performances captivated audiences with their charm in its grounded debut. Bay turned the action dial to eleven for Bad Boys 2, which is the silliest, yet most destructive installment to the point that other movies talk about how over-the-top it is. Bay stepped down from the director's chair and allowed the Belgian duo Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah to make the third film that brought in more melodramatic elements, especially the character of Lowrey's criminal son. Even though Adil and Bilall paid tribute to Bay's style of action, their unique brand of comedy and mayhem stood tall in 2020, which led to the third movie becoming the biggest box office draw of the year.

Ride or Die flips a few things on its ear that the characters and franchise haven't seen before, resulting in many visual and comedic treats. One is that the narrative allows Lowry's character to finally settle down and stop being the playboy he's been for three movies. The other funny twist follows the personality reversals of both Marcus and Mike where Martin Lawrence's character is now the one who wants to dive head first into violence and action without thinking while Mike is constantly yelling to stop the fun and relax. This makes for great comedic moments when Lawrence casually walks into traffic or screams in a fit of rage with guns in both hands to take out the bad guys.

Things get real in a turn of events that has Lowrey and Burnett investigating inside corruption when their beloved late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) is accused of being a part of the Romanian mafia. It's an obvious setup that has both detectives on the run as fugitives and fighting for their lives. They can't trust anyone, however, one person they can trust is Armando, Mike's son from the previous film who has been incarcerated and is now on the run with his father and Marcus to help them out and solve the case. Through big action set pieces flying in the sky of a burning helicopter to the depths of an abandoned alligator park, Bad Boys: Ride or Die keeps the action, gore, and gunplay at an all-time high. Even a fan-favorite character, Reggie (Marcus' son-in-law), is finally allowed to step up to the plate in what is to be the crowd-favorite scene of the movie.

Adil and Bilall still pay tribute to Bay's camera style of edits, even updating them to use fantastic drone shots that zip through the action. Their ability to capture the tender moments between Lowrey and his son Armando over their strained relationship hit the heartstrings in an unexpectedly beautiful way. Sure, Lawrence and Smith are quite obviously older now, but that didn't stop them from running around with guns or driving fast cars at top speed. They might perform those action beats a bit slower this time, but they haven't lost a step. And for those who were wondering if Will Smith winks at his infamous Oscars slap - that is on full display here in a truly funny moment that will no doubt have people talking about the self-deprecating gesture. Bad Boys: Ride Or Die is a fantastically funny and action-packed fourth movie that looks to pass the torch onto the next generation and is easily the most fun and emotional movie of the franchise. Highly Recommended!