![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Bad-Boys-Ride-or-Die-PIC.jpg?resize=620%2C348&ssl=1\")
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Bad Boys: Ride or Die <\/strong>(2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Columbia\/Action-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 115 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong violence, language throughout, some sexual references)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Adil & Bilall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Chris Bremner and Will Beall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Lorne Balfe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Robrecht Heyvaert\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 7, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nunez, Eric Dane, Ioan Gruffudd, Jacob Scipio, Melanie Liburd, Tasha Smith, Rhea Seehorn, Tiffany Haddish, Joe Pantoliano, DJ Khaled, John Salley, Bianca Bethune, Dennis Mcdonald, Quinn Hemphill, Derek Russo, Karter Reese Newsome, Levy Tran, Jay DeVon Johnson.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n Rating<\/strong>: ***<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Should we start by addressing the proverbial elephant in the room? Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong> is Will Smith\u2019s first theatrical film since the infamous Oscar slap in 2022. The big question is whether or not fans have forgiven him for his lapse in judgment. Some of the comments I\u2019ve seen on social media indicate he\u2019s still in the doghouse with several people. A few have stated they will no longer watch anything with his name attached. Others are willing to let bygones be bygones. Me, I think Will did an amazingly stupid thing smacking comedian Chris Rock on live TV, but I\u2019m not going to hold it against him for the rest of his life. If Rock can forgive him (which he apparently has), why can\u2019t we all? End of sermon; let\u2019s proceed with review.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0The Bad Boys series has never been one of my favorites although I freely admit to loving every single mayhem-filled moment of Bad Boys II, the very definition of the term \u201cover the top\u201d. I wasn\u2019t wild about the previous installment Bad Boys for Life and I expected to feel the same about Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong>, the fourth movie featuring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as a pair of Miami cops who rarely (if ever) play by the rules. My feeling was one of lukewarm indifference as I settled into my seat. Imagine my surprise when I ended up liking this entertaining but unexceptional action-comedy. It\u2019s actually a pretty good flick.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Like its immediate predecessor, it\u2019s directed by Team Adil & Bilall who took the reins from original director Michael Bay. It still bears the logo of producers Don Simpson (RIP) and Jerry Bruckheimer which means you can still expect plenty of noise and pandemonium from Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong>. A direct follow-up to BB for Life, it opens with our heroes Mike Lowrey (Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Lawrence) racing through the streets of Miami trying to get to a wedding on time, Mike\u2019s to be exact. Along the way, they pull over at a bodega so Marcus can buy a ginger ale for his upset stomach. Naturally, some dopey thug tries to hold up the place while he\u2019s there. M&M make short work of the guy, telling the owner to call 911 before they leave. Trouble sure has a way of following these guys.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Speaking of which, M&M finds themselves on the run from the law and the city\u2019s criminal underbelly while trying to exonerate their late CO Capt. Howard (Pantoliano, Memento) on charges of official corruption. Somebody has it out for him bad enough that they want to tarnish his image posthumously. A team of armed-to-the-teeth baddies led by James McGrath (Dane, Grey\u2019s Anatomy) fabricate evidence making it look like Howard had cartel ties. Mike and Marcus don\u2019t believe it. They\u2019re determined to prove their ill-tempered mentor innocent.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0To do this, Mike will need the help of his son Armando (Scipio, Expend4bles) who\u2019s currently serving life in prison for Howard\u2019s murder. He can identify the real dirty cop in the department. The bad guys can\u2019t let that happen, so they cause the plane that\u2019s transporting him (with M&M on board) to a safe location to crash. The three of them survive, but now the cops are wanted for murder.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0A movie like Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong> doesn\u2019t require deep analysis although one could make something of the scene where Lawrence slaps Smith across the face several times. Aside from that, it\u2019s a fun movie with plenty of action and a few laughs. By now, Smith and Lawrence are like an old married couple who can finish each other\u2019s sentences. They can anticipate every zig and zag. They have good chemistry. It\u2019s enjoyable to watch them for the most part even when they get loud which they frequently do. The problem is they\u2019re both over 50 now; how much longer can they keep this up? Then again, look at Liam Neeson; he shows no signs of slowing down at 72.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0I wish Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong> had made more use of the young AMMO team cops, Kelly (Hudgens, Spring Breakers) and Dom (Ludwig, The Hunger Games). On the upside, they give Marcus\u2019 Marine son-in-law Reggie (Greene) one of the movie\u2019s best scenes when he takes down a dozen bad guys who break into house and threaten his family. The action scenes are the best part of Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong>. They\u2019re so well-crafted even if they don\u2019t break any new ground. The finale at an abandoned alligator farm is sufficiently thrilling even if you know right away somebody\u2019s going to be gator chow before it\u2019s all over.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n \u00a0Bad Boys: Ride or Die<\/strong> is a good, early summer action-comedy. It moves along at a nice pace and it\u2019s funny. There\u2019s a good running joke involving Marcus\u2019 newfound sense of immortality after a near-death experience following a heart attack. The bottom line is this: I really liked it. It\u2019s not going to win any awards nor do I think it will return Will to superstar status. It\u2019s a good start though.<\/p>\r\n <\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Columbia\/Action-Comedy\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 115 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated R (strong violence, language throughout, some sexual references)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Adil & Bilall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Chris Bremner and Will Beall\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Lorne Balfe\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Robrecht Heyvaert\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: June 7, 2024 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig, Paola Nunez, Eric Dane, Ioan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":719,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-action-adventure","category-comedies"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Bad-Boys-Ride-or-Die-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=132"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":721,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/132\/revisions\/721"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/719"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/Bad-Boys-Ride-or-Die-POSTER.jpg?resize=620%2C930&ssl=1\")
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