
By Cain Dennis
Shortly after walking out of our screening of “Bad Boys For Life” I turned to friends that I saw it with and said “That may have been the most unnecessary movie I have ever watched.” While that early assessment may have been a bit hyperbolic, “Bad Boys For Life” brings little to the table aside from ridiculous action and laughs. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have good chemistry on-screen, so I understand why audiences have attached themselves to their characters across this trilogy, and the majority of what I enjoyed about the film is their banter and the way their characters jab at each other.
The only reason this movie exists is to give viewers one last ride with the Bad Boys, its story is extremely predictable, its editing is frenetic and purposeless, and the entire film dashes from car chase to gunfight to comedy with what feels like little planning. “Bad Boys For Life” is a film that I have little to really say about, it’s empty calories on a grand scale. The action scenes are boisterous and fun but do very little to progress any semblance of a story.
I had a good time watching the Bad Boys reunite but doubt that I’ll ever revisit this movie, I don’t think there’s anything else to gain from it aside from some fun action and goofy character moments from Lawrence and Smith. I can’t recommend this film unless you’re already invested in the previous two in the series. Seeing as, at the time of writing, this film has made over 290 million dollars at the worldwide box office, it’s likely we’ll see the Bad Boys return for another adventure, but I think that they need to retire.
“Bad Boys For Life” gets a