I never saw any of the Bad Boys movies, which means I stepped into the fourth installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, completely blind. Fortunately, I wasn't completely lost as I followed Miami's finest, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence), for nearly two hours. At least it's not drowning in a sea of continuity (unlike some other sequels).
The film opens as the titular Bad Boys race to Mike's wedding to Christine (Melanie Liburd), his off-screen therapist during Bad Boys for Life (more on that later). Marcus has a heart attack on the dance floor, and in his near-death state, he gets a pep talk from the late Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano). He wakes up fully convinced of his immortality, even as his family and Mike try to get him on a diet. And then, the bad guys show up.
An evil Cartel enforcer, James McGrath (Eric Dane), frames Capt. Howard for corruption. Howard saw the posthumous slander coming, so he left Mike and Marcus a video message warning them about the real crooked cops. The Bad Boys immediately get on the case, which requires them to team-up with Mike's illegitimate son Armando (Jacob Scipio), who also happens to be the Cartel enforcer who personally gunned down Howard in the last movie. Unfortunately, McGrath sabotages their prison helicopter, frames them for the act, and even puts a bounty on them for Miami's gangs to fight over. Mike and Marcus have to rely on a few good cops to get out of this one.
Whether you've followed Mike and Marcus from the beginning, or are starting fresh here, you'll get a good time here. It's only natural that the titular Bad Boys are the biggest reasons why. Mike maybe annoyed with Marcus's sweet tooth, especially when it nearly gets him late to his wedding, but he's still crushed when Marcus has his heart attack. Mike saves Marcus from his overconfidence a few more times, particularly with an alligator in the finale. Mike gets the dramatic arc with his PTSD over Capt. Howard's death, while Marcus gets the funny stuff and a few motivational bits. You don't need to know much about their past adventures to understand their chemistry here.
Now, for the villains. In his backstory, McGrath was a DEA agent who broke under Cartel torture. Any chance for sympathy is thrown out the window in his first scene, in which he forces a guy to wire money into Howard's bank account and kills him & his mistress anyway. Who's that guy? Who cares, but that was low. He's a flat villain, but it's his sheer loathsomeness that makes him a memorable villain. It's even more memorable when Mike finally takes him down in the climax. His collaborator, a corrupt Mayoral candidate named Lockwood (Ioan Gruffudd), is a bit pathetic, but he's no less dangerous, as current Captain Rita (Paola Nunez) finds out (fortunately, she lives).
Now, for a few others. I know I haven't seen Bad Boys for Life, but as I researched its plot, I wonder why Christine wasn't introduced then. This is literally the first time anyone has seen her. She's fine here, but her "remember the new guy" introduction is a bit odd. Marcus's family includes several established characters, one of whom, Marcus's wife Theresa, is actually a recast (going from Theresa Randle to Tasha Smith). Dennis Greene, returning as Marcus's son-in-law Reggie, gets his moment to shine when he takes down some of McGrath's goons. Armando is a compelling reformed villain and is quite funny when he plays straight man to Mike and Marcus. Rhea Seehorn and Quinn Hemphill are fine as Howard's U.S. Marshal daughter Judy, and her daughter Callie, respectively. I can go on, but I can't.
I'll instead go on about the technicals. There's some stunning cinematography of nighttime Miami by Robrecht Heyvaert, who also impresses with a perspective-flipping shot during the final battle. The production design by Jon Billington is also exquisite as it takes Mike and Marcus to plenty of impressive locales from a few neon nightclubs to a rundown alligator amusement park. There's some strong visual effects work here, whether it's the helicopter crash or especially Marcus in limbo. The effects team should be proud of what they did with the latter. The action & comedy are perfectly edited by Asaf Eisenberg & Dan Lebental, while Lorne Balfe's score and the sound design are impressive. If this was the panache directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (together, Adil & Bilall) brought to the Batgirl movie, then it makes that film's cancellation even dumber.
But let's talk about films we can see. Bad Boys: Ride or Die has likeable heroes, a hateable villain, and plenty of stellar action scenes. In other words, it's a basic summer blockbuster, and that's not a bad thing. What's especially great is how inviting it is to newcomers and established fans alike. I wouldn't mind seeing a fifth film if they choose to make one. But for now, let's set our sights on this summer's crop. That's it for now.
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