The world famous duo Martin Lawrence and Will Smith are back again in the fourth addition to the classic Bad Boys franchise, Bad Boys: Ride or Die. The action packed comedy gives a great balance between its serios plot and witty script in a classic way audiences have enjoyed since the first release nearly 30 years ago in 1995. The film Directors Adil El Arbi, and Bilall Fallah, clearly put in some serious work to bring audiences the thickest plot and biggest action scenes as ever before. Bilall mentioned in an interview with Collider how the third movie, “Bad Boys For Life” was originally going to be the last one. They even named it that as a stamp of it lasting forever. Yet on the last day of production, they couldn’t help to think of making number 4 and decided to create a teaser for post-credits. Finally, four years later the roll out of this film is here. Bilall spoke energetically about the creative process of making this project, wanting it to be “fresh and interesting, not a copy of the other movies.” Mission accomplished. Ride or Die used some of their distinct camera tricks and visual styles in previous films but kept the storyline moving forward. Martin and Will seem to not have lost a drop of chemistry as their friendly banter and silly annoyances carry the movie from beginning to end.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die picks up right where part 3, Bad Boys for Life, left off. It’s safe to watch part 4 without watching 1-3 but its not highly recommended. So many of the special appearances and a few key references just hit harder when you know the history behind it in this case. Audiences were introduced to Will Smith and Martin Lawrence in part 1 as Miami detectives Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett. Their head honcho boss Captain Howard, played by Joe Pantoliano, was a stern commander who trusted their work but kept high anxiety about Mike and Marcus completely butchering their tasks at hand at any given moment. In Ride or Die, Mike and Marcus are still working in law enforcement, but this time they are the fugitives on the run. Captain Howard suffered a loss in part 3 that is now being used by a mob framing Howard for their dirty work. No one else seems to be putting two and two together in the police unit, leaving the duo to take an independent stand in breaking the case with a very small group of advanced special force officers.
Will’s character, Mike, is still the mature, focused professional keeping Marcus focused on their missions. He is a dedicated husband with a loving wife who admires him and understands his drive to avenge Captain Howard. Lawrence’s character, Marcus, is also dealing with Captain Howard’s transition while also struggling to adjust to a healthier lifestyle due to his health condition. A near-death experience has Marcus on a new spiritually awakened path that leaves him feeling, serene, and immortal. Marcus helps Mike as he often disregards his feelings to focus on work. The opposition is their friendship brings each other balance between their professional and home lives. Mike and Marcus fight hard to redeem Captain Howard’s good reputation. They use tactful schemes, with elaborate gun play while working secretly with the same advance team from previous films, Kelly and Dorn played by Vanessa Hudgen and Alexander Ludwig.
The directors have given an in-depth look into Ride or Die in multiple interviews and behind the scene commentary. Many of the unique camera shots were storyboarded in order to create a sense of wonder that keeps the audience’s attention. The wide lens shots were used to “push the visual weight, make it different. It enhances the comedy, like a visual style of comedy.” The rehearsals before filming were set up to help get Will and Martin’s comedic input throughout the movie. There was a team of writers on site during their run-throughs of the script editing their lines during points of improvision. Will and Martin’s seniority in tv and movies gave them a lot of freedom to change lines and add jokes as they saw fit for their characters. This really helped give the movie an authentic feel, much of the movie’s dialogue doesn’t sound scripted at all. Their team dynamic really shines on film, getting better in each rendition of this franchise.
Overall, Ride or Die told a great story of two black men taking on a journey of self-awareness and deepening friendship while fighting for a greater cause. Honoring Captain Howard with posthumous features was very respectful way to bring the past into the present without causing a gap in the storyline. Martin’s character has come a long way from having to breathe through “woosaaah”s to calm down. The opps causing corruption was a nice plot twist. They placed multiple special appearances throughout the film worth mentioning but for the sake of not spoiling the surprises let’s not venture further down that lane. Anyone with an eye for cinematography is going to get an eyeful of beautiful shots to possibly add to their book of camera tricks to learn. The movie was paced well, not too many slow scenes of boring, useless dialogue. There’s tons of action through high speed chases and shootouts but nothing too gore. I don’t believe they could’ve done a better job at adding on to the three classic films that have already made an impact on black film over the years.
