Finally, a good ‘Bad Boys’
Third installment in buddycop series strikes right balance of comedy, drama, story
Of all the tired, dead, overcooked 1990s concept movies that seemed unlikely candidates for resurrection, “Bad Boys” topped the list. So what a pleasant surprise that “Bad Boys for Life” is a funny, satisfying action comedy that never disappoints.
What makes this particularly pleasant and surprising is that this third installment in the series is not just the best of the three, it’s the first good one. The others had the elements in place: They had the two guys, Martin Lawrence and Will Smith. The comedy. The action. The amazingly evil villain. But the balance of these elements was always wrong.
“Bad Boys” (1995) leaned too heavily on the comedy and became labored. “Bad Boys II” (2003) became sentimental and maudlin and went on forever. But “Bad Boys for Life” has the right mix. It not only balances the comedy and drama, but it’s also often funny and dramatic at the same time. A good illustration of this is the skillful scene in which Smith, as Mike, opens up about his past. He tells Marcus (Lawrence) about a love affair he once had, which scarred him for life. The revelation comes at a significant point in
the story, so the scene has to work, but there’s a danger of it becoming maudlin, farfetched or both. The screenwriters keep this within the right tone and spirit of “Bad Boys” through Marcus’ response, beautifully played by Lawrence, which is so coarse and inadequate that it brings on one of the movie’s best laughs.
The story goes, all these years later the guys are still at it, but Marcus is feeling his age and wants to retire. He’s a family man, with a new grandchild, and he wants a future of kicking back in a lounge chair and watching afternoon television, forever. Mike, meanwhile, is reacting to age in the opposite way. He doesn’t want to think about change. He wants to stay in the eternal present, doing exactly the same thing, until he drops — or until someone drops him.
Which brings us to the movie’s villain — or villainess — Isabel, a frighteningly cold crime boss played by Kate del
Castillo, a terrific (in both senses of the word) actress who has mainly worked in her native Mexico. In a merciless and bloody scene, Isabel escapes from prison. As soon as she’s out, she’s giving her henchman son (Jacob Scipio) a long list of people to kill — and Mike is the star entry.
“Bad Boys for Life” runs just over two hours, which is about the limit for a movie like this, but it packs so much story and character interest into that time that it all flies by. There’s the relationship between the two guys, which takes some interesting turns. There’s some fun involving Marcus’ family. There’s Joe Pantoliano, who makes every movie better, as the bad boys’ boss. And there’s the ongoing dynamic between Mike and a female colleague, Rita (Paola Núñez), with whom he once had an affair.
One of the unexpected things about the film’s direction (by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah) is that it makes you feel and sense things that the screenplay only hints at or touches on. So, for example, Rita and Mike’s previous history is a subtle presence in all their interaction. This is the kind of texture you don’t see in a routine action movie, which is another way of saying that “Bad Boys for Life” is not routine.
It also looks like these guys aren’t going away. Though the movie comes to a satisfying and unambiguous finish, it leaves the door open for yet another sequel. According to IMDb, a “Bad Boys 4” is in preproduction, but so far no director has been assigned. Here’s some free advice: Don’t go back to Michael Bay. Arbi and Fallah have the right feel for this.