After all, the camaraderie between Smith and Lawrence has not waned one bit since the original Bad Boys.

This is not to say that the previous entries lacked moments of sincerity. With this division in the narrative, the movie strongly argues that although Mike and Marcus may lack relevance as people, their ideologies certainly do not.Īll of this is to say that Bad Boys for Life is the first Bad Boys film to have a legitimate emotional core. But unlike Mike, AMMO makes sure to wait until the right moment to enact violence. Unlike Marcus, AMMO never hesitates to participate in hostile environments at a bare minimum. In addition to the presence of young AMMO members like Kelly (Vanessa Hudgens) and Rafe (Charles Melton), the team represents a synthesis of Mike and Marcus’s approaches to tense situations. As Mike becomes a target of cartel leader Armando Armas (Jacob Scipio), the two must team up with a new division called AMMO. Mike and Marcus also confront their relevance thanks to the new faces in the Miami police department. In turn, we get to follow characters that deal with obsolescence in opposing and interesting ways. By contrast, Marcus embraces the fact his cop life is over, as he would rather relax at home than work alongside Mike. As a middle-aged man, Mike remains the tense cop who cannot help but act young and trigger-happy. This is most apparent with how it develops Mike Lowery (Will Smith) and Marcus Burnett (Martin Lawrence). While an opening car chase recalls the Bad Boys of old, it becomes clear there is more to it beyond the nostalgia. Like many legacy-based sequels, Bad Boys for Life ages its main characters and places them in a modern setting that feels somewhat alienating.

And now in 2020, the Bad Boys series has done it with Bad Boys for Life. Last year, the Toy Story series did it with Toy Story 4. In 2006, the Rocky series did it with Rocky Balboa. Thankfully, this allows the films to breathe new life into their brands. As a result, these franchises often have to generate interest by exploring their obsolescence in the text itself. Even for the ones with decent critical reception, they still struggle to spark attention because of their outdated IPs. This is especially apparent in an age where studios foolishly think that creating familiar content will yield profits without fail. The idea of film franchises reaching their expiration date is almost inevitable these days.

Bad boys 2019