Bad Boys or Sad Boys? · 9:26pm May 18th
Rating Scale:
12/10—a complete masterpiece; flawless and outstanding
11/10—Excellent, near-perfect film
10/10—the standard rating; awesome film with a couple of flaws
9/10—a wonderful film with several flaws
8/10–a great film with numerous flaws but not enough to ruin it
7/10—a fun and entertaining movie; not great but still enjoyable
6/10—a slightly above average film; it is something I might watch again
5/10—mediocre movie; not awful but not great either
4/10—a below average film; it could have been much better
3/10—a bad film; poorly written and poorly executed
2/10—a very bad movie; the few good things in the movie overshadowed by the bad things
1/10—a terrible movie; a total waste of time
0/10—a worthless piece of abomination; should have never been made
Hello, everyone. This is Mr. J back with another movie review for today. This afternoon, I will be reviewing the third BB movie entitled “Bad Boys for Life” released in 2020. To my surprise, this was a very good and enjoyable movie experience. I honestly don’t understand why some people hate this movie. In my opinion, it proved to be a faithful continuation of the series although it is not directed by Michael Bay this time around.
This movie is about our bad boys having a whole new dilemma. Mike is confronted by the demons of his past whereas Marcus is now retired from the force. A deadly mercenary is eliminating every officer familiar with his mother’s criminal history, and Mike must need all the help he can get to find out who his attacker is.
Personally, I found this movie to be more emotionally driven than its predecessors because it involves Mike’s past history through an unexpected twist of events. It made him more seriously invested in stopping a rampaging criminal on the streets, and he would not stop until he is put down for good.
Believe me, I was genuinely surprised to see he had a son all along—an offspring who was manipulated into a life of bloodshed by his evil mother. Adil and Bilall did a great job creating an interesting storyline that made Mike a much more compelling character than before.
As always, Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have not lost their touch through their hilarious acting performances even 17 years after the second movie.
Isabel Aretas was an utterly wicked witch who was so hellbent in getting even with Mike; Kate del Castillo was very impressive with her performance. The same can be said for Jacob Scipio’s role as Armando Aretas. Both of them fit their respective roles perfectly like a glove.
But of course, Bad Boys 3 has a lot of issues that prevent it from being a perfect movie. One thing I didn’t like about it was the fast pacing, especially in the first act. One moment, Mike is shot multiple times on the streets of Miami and is in critical condition; then three minutes later, there’s a time jump where he is perfectly okay and stands up from his wheelchair.
It would’ve raised the stakes even higher if Mike was hospitalized for at least 20 minutes during the first act so that the audience can actually process what is happening and perhaps even worry for a bit if Mike may or may not make it.
Skipping his whole recovery process makes it come across as empty shock value. If he’s perfectly fine, then why should I fear that he might actually die later on? That felt like lazy writing, in my opinion.
Oh, and I find it quite upsetting that one of my favorite characters of the previous movies—Captain Howard—was killed off by Armando although Mike was able to survive four or five bullets to the chest. It just doesn’t make any sense to me; it feels like an insane amount of plot armor was used unfairly.
Another thing I found off-putting was its shoehorned comedy. Granted, it has some funny scenes, but there were quite a few moments that felt forced and unfunny. One example is the part where a dead body fell on Marcus’s car while Mike was fighting with Armando.
Martin Lawrence’s acting during that scene felt a little cringey because the comedic timing was completely off. But that’s just me.
Regardless of its flaws, I had a lot of fun watching it. I love the action sequences, the emotion, and the ambitious cinematography. Even the other cast members each did a pretty solid performance in this film such as Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Charles Melton, Paola Núñez, and Joe Pantoliano.
Overall, this is a flawed but good sequel and an epic comeback for the franchise. This also gets an 8/10. If there’s one thing I’m getting from these movies, it’s the utmost determination and commitment that will get us through hard times. We ride together, and we die together. BAD BOYS FOR LIFE!
Peace out!
