Bad Boys for Life

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)

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)

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)

I spent a weekend with the whole trilogy and I’m raising my rating of the third instalment to four stars. At the cinema, I was bothered by the cheap digital visuals of the action scenes, which weren’t so noticeable on a large TV screen. The movie lacks Bay’s trademarks and compositional uniqueness, but when we take the third film’s screenplay into consideration, we see that the trademarks and visuals of the preceding films were really the only things that made them interesting. That’s true especially of the second one. Bad Boys for Life has the best screenplay by far, as it tastefully incorporates historical motifs, works cleverly and sympathetically with the characters, including the supporting characters such as the police team leaders and the distinctive bad guys, and even aptly makes fun of itself (“This is some serious telenovela shit!”). And the new, fresh team spirit evokes the beginning of a new Bad Boys era, which I believe will not eventually slip into the realm of retardation like the Fast & Furious franchise. At least as long as Arbi and Fallah are in charge. (22.01.2020)

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)