Review: Will Smith And Martin Lawrence Bring The Mayhem In ‘Bad Boys: Ride Or Die’ On Blu-ray
by David Lewis
Bad Boys: Ride or Die brings back Will Smith and Martin Lawrence yet again for more slick Miami madness — under the guidance of the directing team of Adil & Bilall — picking things up where they left off with 2020’s belated threequel Bad Boys For Life.
The big reveal in episode 3 was that Mike (Smith) had a long-lost son, Armando (Jacob Scipio), a vicious cartel bigwig who was responsible for the death of Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano) before realizing the error of his ways and promising to reform while in prison. In Ride or Die, Mike and Marcus (Lawrence) find themselves battling corruption from multiple sides after Captain Howard is posthumously framed for drug running. Mike, Marcus, and a newly free Armando team up to clear Howard’s name, find the real enemy, and tell as many half-assed jokes about getting old as they possibly can. There’s also a wholly unexpected subplot involving Marcus’ near-death experience bringing him closer to The Other Side and allowing him to meet with Howard’s ghost. Likewise, there’s a similarly themed post-credits scene that we won’t spoil here that potentially opens the series up to everything from reincarnation to time travel.
The rest of the film plays it much safer, giving longtime audiences more of the what they’ve come to expect after the years. The supporting cast includes a number of familiar faces from previous installments. Vanessa Hudgens and Alexander Ludwig return as specially trained cops who help the heroes and take up an awful lot of screen time. John Salley and DJ Khaled reprise their roles from earlier films, but are quickly dispatched before they make much of an impact beyond jogging your memory.
Newcomers include Ioan Gruffudd playing a slimy politician who may not be on the level. Then there’s Rhea Seehorn, so good on Better Call Saul, who seems like she’s having fun as a US Marshall with a personal vendetta. Tiffany Haddish shows up for a brief scene that feels improvised and just isn’t very funny. Finally, Eric Dane, who plays a very different kind of bad guy on HBO’s Euphoria, makes for an effective villain here, with his steely gaze and gravelly voice.
With so many characters, it becomes a narrative jumble, adding too many subplots and unnecessary detours. It’s best when it sticks to the straightforward storyline and delivers the high-octane thrills the series is known for, including a show stopping sequence on an out-of-control Chinook helicopter and the climactic shootout at an abandoned gator park (abandoned, that is, except for the inevitably hungry giant albino alligator). Adil & Bilall tend to go overboard with camera moves, POV shots (including one that replicates first-person shooter games like Call of Duty), elaborately choreographed drone shots, and relentless cutting. And, believe it or not, Ride or Die is drenched in even more neon and filtered sunsets than the Michael Bay era of the first two films … but fans will find plenty to enjoy here.
The bonus features are fairly run of the mill. The cast and crew reminisce about the series (if you count how many times one of them says the word “franchise,” you’ll quickly go insane), Lawrence and Smith crack each other up in a fun blooper reel, and there’s a handful of deleted scenes which were wisely cut to keep things moving. There’s also a brief clip billed as a tribute to series producer Jerry Bruckheimer, but it ends up being as much about Bay and Adil & Bilall.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die is now available to rent or own digitally now and on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.
