Bad Boys For Life review: Will Smith serves up a dish of steaming hot nostalgia
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Once a guarantee of box office success, Will Smith today finds himself on rocky ground.
Last year’s Gemini Man bombed, his Netflix movie Bright was critically savaged, and even the success of Aladdin can be put down to nostalgia rather than star-power. The A-lister and sometime YouTuber looks for redemption in his third Bad Boys film, which sees his character Mike Lowrey and partner Marcus Burnett (Mike Lawrence) on the tail of a vengeful drug lord.
Series director Michael Bay has not returned to inflict more damage on the Miami skyline, but his philosophies are in place. Everything that can be shot, blown up, or punched in the face tastes cold justice at the hands of the ageing duo. The series’ disdain for left wing politics lingers, even if the edgier humour has been filtered for today’s crowd.
It’s essentially Bad Boys Reheated, although it’s nowhere near as tired as many other third instalments. This is largely down to the chemistry between the stars, whose odd-ball friendship remains as funny as ever. Lawrence acts his age as the older cop trying to enjoy family life and stop chasing villains, and provides a punchline for every gunshot.
Smith continues to defy the ageing process, with his youthful appearance giving legitimacy to the idea that this is a cop who’s not quite ready to settle down. Bad Boys For Life may be an excuse to recycle old material, but it’s done with enough enthusiasm to make the return worthwhile.