"Bad Boys for Life" (a.k.a. "Bad Boys 3"), the long-awaited third entry in the "Bad Boys" franchise, has been in development since 2008 with various writers and directors being attached to the project and eventually parting ways. Even franchise staple director Michael Bay ("Transformers", "Armageddon") is not in the director's seat this time around, choosing instead to helm "6 Underground" for Netflix while relative unknowns, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah ("Black", "Snowfall"), take over directing duties.
So, going into the newest installment, some reservations were justified. But what has changed even more than the various drafts of the movie are the film's stars, Mike Lowrey (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). These men have not been boys in a long while and, luckily, "Bad Boys for Life" is well aware of that.
Black don't crack, but Martin Lawrence has not aged as gracefully as Will Smith in the past 17 years since the release of "Bad Boys 2" in 2003. It is very evident in a few of the new film's many action-set pieces that Lawrence is either out of commission or not present at all for a reason.
The writers behind the film were well aware of the elephant in the room of the series headliners Will Smith and Martin Lawrence being well into their 50s, using the age concern as a way to drive the story.
Age is a major factor in the film's narrative; people grow and do not want to play cops for the rest of their lives, which can then drive wedges in between relationships.
The chemistry between Martin Lawrence and Will Smith is a standout as always; these are actors who effortlessly come off as individuals who have been partners as well as friends for years. When they begin to diverge on different paths in the film, the emotion is felt.
One of the major complaints some fans had concerning the first "Bad Boys" film from 1995 were the film's villains. Everyone remembers the comradery between Smith and Lawrence, but the main French drug boss (played by Tcheky Karyo) and his mob might as well be nonexistent. Thankfully, "Bad Boys for Life" rectified its villain problem almost immediately.
The villains of the movie could have just been capable killers that pose a problem for Burnett and Lowrey, which was feasible depending on how the film played it. However, without giving away any spoilers, the villains tie into the characters in more interesting ways than one. In the words of every action movie sequel poster from the 90s: this time, it's personal.
Amongst the action and menacing villains, longtime fans of the "Bad Boys" series will be glad to see plenty of returning faces and cameos from the prior two films scattered throughout the swift 2-hour running time.
Coinciding with the massive release and success of "Bad Boys for Life" over the weekend, a "Bad Boys 4" was jointly announced by Sony to be in active development. Time will tell if the next film will be able to capture the magic once again, but it looks like the "Bad Boys" franchise may be seeing a much-deserved franchise revival.
Let's just hope that the next outing doesn't take another 17 years to release.