Popcorn Perspectives with Danny Minton
Week of June 3, 2024
Bad Boys: Ride or Die
Rated R for some sexual references, language throughout and strong violence
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 69%
In Theaters
Trying to resurrect his career after the slap heard around the world, Will Smith reunites with Martin Lawrence for a fourth Bad Boys film. As the film begins, Mike (Smith) is getting married as Marcus (Lawrence) has a heart attack while going a little crazy at the wedding. While dead, Marcus has a vision of what is to come, with a premonition that things are about to get crazy. And they do. Without much of a break, the plot starts to thicken as they find out that their deceased boss has been framed for working with the cartels and they must find a way to clear his name and stop a huge wave of crime from hitting both Miami and the police department. My biggest concern going in was whether I would be able to separate my disgust of what Smith did in real-life enough to appreciate him again. It’s not our job to forgive him, but it is a task just to forget what happened. That being said, Smith, now an Oscar winner, is a very talented actor and he manages to allow you to sidestep his real life issues long enough to enjoy his new adventure. And it helps that this new chapter of Bad Boys is very entertaining. Just like the others, the action and comedy are both in full force, creating a scenario where your laughs and thrills hit in equal measure. From the very beginning, the jokes hit, and the laughter penetrates between action sequence to keep you fully engaged and excited for nearly two hours. Sure, there are some problems throughout, with silly script issues and some terrible character choices. But the movie allows you to ignore the issues just long enough to get you to the next plot point, and for the most part, this is a triumphant return for both Smith and Lawrence, each of whom was struggling coming into this project. I must admit that I hardly remember a thing from 2020’s Bad Boys for Life, but thankfully, the movie doesn’t require much of a memory, and you are quickly tied up into the action before you can realize that you don’t really know exactly what is going on. So honestly, I don’t see a need to rewatch unless you really get a hankering. So while I still can’t condone Smith’s notorious Oscar night shenanigans, I still found a way to enjoy his latest outing, leaving the theater with a bigger smile on my face than I thought would be possible for this project. B