Review: Bad Boys For Life
Bad Boys For Life is crushing at the box office and making fans everywhere happy. As a long time fan, I was excited about this entry into the series. It did have a couple of bumps for me, but ultimately it did not disappoint.
There will be spoilers in this review. If you have not seen the movie then turn back now.
One last SPOILER warning.
In the opening scene, we have Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence) leading a high speed chase through the streets of Miami. They get to their destination: a hospital. Marcus is now a grandpa or “pop pop”. Holding the kid in his arms gives him a new outlook on life, leading to some internal struggles he will have throughout the movie.
The story starts to unfold with a prison escape, which was as impractical as it was obvious. A female inmate, Isabel Aretas (Kate Del Castillo), stabs a female guard. Other guards see it on the cameras, sound the alarm, and rush in. They get to the guard, pull her out, and get her on an ambulance. To no shock, the inmate has switched places with the guard and moved the body. This leads to her escape. Somehow, with cameras everywhere, in a very short amount of time, we are supposed to believe she got rid of the body and put the guard uniform on, tucked in the shirt and all, before help arrived.
Whatever, its a movie, let’s suspend our belief of reality.
We find out that she is one of our main villains; her accomplice in the escape was her son Armando (Jacob Scipio). Armando is told that his father buried money outside of Miami and he is to go get the money back. With this task, he is also given a hit list of people involved with Isabel’s arrest years ago.
One of the people on the list is Mike.
Everyone is out celebrating Marcus becoming a grandpa, which leads to some fun interactions between Mike and Marcus, which then leads them to a bet and a foot race. Marcus wants to retire and watch his grandchild grow up, while Mike wants to keep it going “bad boys for life”. Winner decides what they do.
This leads to one of my misses and problems with the movie. At this point, we are not even fifteen minutes into the movie. Mike is winning the foot race and when he turns around to celebrate, Armando drives by and shoots Mike four times in the chest with an automatic weapon. The outcome looks grim, but this is the very beginning of the movie. To me personally, a good movie will keep you guessing about a character’s fate. No one wants to see their beloved characters perish, but that worry should still be there. This happening basically right after the opening credits puts no fear in you that he won’t make it. You know he will be fine and back to his normal self for the rest of the movie.
To no shock to anyone, Mike makes it, and makes it his mission to go after the shooter. Six months have passed since he was gunned down, and in those six months, his partner Marcus made some changes. Praying to God to spare Mike’s life, he promised to not bring any more violence into the world, and he also retired from the police department.
Mike is going through a mid-life crisis and needs to find the shooter for his own mental well being. He tries to guilt Marcus into coming out of retirement, but it doesn’t work, and Mike is forced to go at it alone.
This is when we meet the AMMO squad, which is a small task force in the Miami PD. Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) has Mike join them as an adviser only, which leads to some insubordination, and issues like getting someone they need killed during a botched arms deal.
AMMO is a group of newcomers to the series which are all written and acted very well. They steal the show in most scenes they are in. They have it all: a love interest for Mike, comic relief, and someone to butt heads with Mike.
Mike is feeling like all hope is lost, so he goes to see Captain Howard, where one of the biggest shocks of the movie happened.
Mike is walking back to Howard’s car, making plans for Mike to come by for dinner later that night, when Howard is hit with a sniper round to the throat. Unlike Mike, Howard does not make it. This increases the internal battle Marcus was having, which makes him approach Mike for “one last ride”.
Mike and Marcus back together, follow a lead, and go to pay a visit to someone with information. Mike does not know of Marcus’s promise of no violence. Marcus tried to calm Mike down, but Mike kicks the door, and goes in by force. Marcus takes the lead and tries to talk the guy down by saying he is “going to penetrate his soul with his heart”. This, of course, doesn’t go well for Marcus, and it’s up to Mike to take him down by force, but AMMO comes to save the day. This was a great scene of comedic genius that really plays off the chemistry that Smith and Lawrence have together.
Marcus’ promise of no more violence leads to one of my favorite interactions: there is a big shoot out and car chase, bullets flying everywhere. Mike and Marcus are in pursuit on a bike and a sidecar that they stole from the bad guys. This is when Marcus finally comes clean to Mike that he has a promise with God, that he will bring no more violence. It’s also at this time that Marcus discovers a mounted turret in the sidecar of the bike. Mike convinces Marcus that the gun was given to him from God, and that he is a vessel for God’s work. Marcus accepts in comedic fashion and proclaims he is a vessel while firing the turret.
This encounter ends with Mike and Armando face to face, and before Armando is about to kill Mike, he says “hasta el fuego”. This catches Mike off guard, and then Marcus saves the day, letting both Mike and Armando escape. Mike explains to Marcus that the phrase “hasta el fuego” was a made up phrase that he and Isabel would say to each other. Mike connects all the dots and realizes that Armando is his son — a son he never knew about. He then explains the situation to Marcus. His first job was an undercover job. He was Isabel’s driver. The two fell in love and were going to run away together. Mike chose the badge over love and he turned her in. She gave birth in prison, and Mike never knew.
Mike decides to track Armando and Isabel to Mexico for a final standoff, with intentions of going down there alone. Marcus has other plans, and shows up on the plane Mike is on, leading to some amazing dialogue between the two of them, that ends with Mike saying he is going to kill Armando.
Once in Mexico, we find out that Marcus called AMMO and the whole team is together for the final stand. It’s a great action packed finale.
This is where we get to the final piece that doesn’t work for me. Mike squares off with Armando, and after a short fight, Mike has the upper hand and has Armando in a choke hold. While life is fading from Armando’s face, Mike sees their reflection, and lets go of his grip.
Mike tells Armando that he is his father, and Armando does not believe him; Armando starts to beat on Mike, who refuses to fight back. Marcus comes into the scene, and Mike tells him not to intervene, and lets him know he is “trying to penetrate his soul with his heart,” which was a fun call back.
Armando has Mike on the ropes and is about to kill him when Isabel then enters the scene.
Mike tells Isabel to tell the truth and for some reason she does. Armando is in disbelief and lays off Mike. Isabel says to kill him but he won’t. This prompts Isabel to pull a gun and shoot Mike, but Armando steps in front of the bullet and gets shot. After that, AMMO saves the day yet again, and kills Isabel. They get Armando out and get him medical attention and he survives.
This makes very little sense to me. First, why would Isabel even tell the truth at this point? Second, even knowing the truth, we know the crimes Armando has committed — he is ruthless. Why would he care? He doesn’t even know Mike. He has been trying to kill Mike for the entirety of the movie. He has killed many people — including Captain Howard — so I don’t know why he would show mercy on Mike, and choose someone he doesn’t know, over his mother that he has known his whole life.
It didn’t sit well with me but it didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.
While I was wondering why Armando would be so forgiving, they answered it for me: to set up more movies. At the very end, Mike goes to visit Armando in jail. Armando is extremely accepting of his fate, almost too accepting. Mike asked him if he would like an opportunity to pay down some of his debt, which he of course answers with yes, setting up a return for Armando in future movies.
It reminded me of Fast and Furious, how they introduced Jason Statham as a bad guy, he kills someone close to them, and then all seems to be forgiven. Armando killed a lot of people, including a fan favorite in Captain Howard. Not sure if this is something I can look past.
Verdict
Bad Boys for Life, was a fun ride. From start to finish it was packed with humor and action. Will Smith is the biggest star in the film, but his co-stars really shine in this one. Lawrence and the rest of AMMO were the reason this was a great movie. Fans of the series will be pleased and newcomers will be in for a good ride. Some moments didn’t hit for me, but it was not enough to hinder my enjoyment. I recommend this one and give it a score of — 8/10 — . Another installment is definitely on its way, and I can’t wait
For more reviews, be sure to check out my thoughts on Fishing Universe Simulator and Grindstone, and as always check us out on Twitter @TheSpinchoon and I’m @Big_Broons.
