How do you say that? Change everything to change nothing? Not really, at least in this case. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, in fact, have taken a liking to it and, after the third chapter of 2020 (not bad), here they are again in Miami, together with the coolest and most exaggerated bad boys of that cinema born from the Nineties. In fact, there is no doubt that the franchise Bad Boys, now in its fourth film (and despite everything we already want a fifth), is the heir to a well-defined aesthetic, which doesn’t require who knows what major shocks. In some ways, the bad boys created by Michael Bay and George Gallo, on the legendary Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer production, are the emblem of the time that does not want to pass, anchored to a pop imagination born at the end of the Millennium, and subsequently continued with countless attempts at copying (available on both the big and small screen).
Because of this, Bad Boys: Ride or Dieright from the start, makes things clear: there is no need to distort the formula, and there is no need to alter the adrenaline-filled and tacky equation that has irremediably marked the concept of buddy movie. The Belgian directors, who after Bad Boys for Life they saw themselves cancelled Batgirlthey almost seem to entrust the mood of the film to the two iconic protagonists, riding on their mutual understanding with a story whose holes are plugged by the usual joke, promptly unleashed by a pair of protagonists who certainly need no introduction.
Bad Boys 4, if Mike and Marcus become wanted
After all, Will Smith And Martin Lawrence, are the perfect translation of the spirit of the saga. By imprinting, by tones, by physicality. Over the years, they have become the certainty that returns (and we like certainties). Thirty years later Bad Boys, whistling the Inner Circle tune, here they are again with their raucous aplomb. Agents Mike Lowrey and Marcus Burnett are back. Always in a hurry, always sweaty, always chasing the criminals of Miami. Whatever it takes. And in this fourth adventure, the price to pay is decidedly high.
The deceased Captain Howard (Joe Pantoliano, present since the first film) is posthumously accused of being complicit in a bribery and corruption ring. Mike and Marcus aren’t there and, trying to shed light, they will be forced to flee, after being framed by the corrupt agents who hold the Miami police department in their grip.
A Gascon saga that does not betray its mission
If the rules remain the same in Bad Boys: Ride or Die, the reason is to be found in the atmosphere of a title which, since 1995 (a certain generation has consumed it on VHS), has never been too subtle . Unscrupulous action, standardized characters and the setting of Miami which, Michael Bay first and Adil El Arbi & Bilall Fallah after, is framed from below, widening the gaze towards the sky shot in time lapse, among the shades of purple, ocher and then fiery red . Ultimately, in the fourth title, the structure has no intention of capitulating (much less the identifying musical theme by Mark Mancina, revised by Lorne Balfe), if anything it strengthens itself (as far as possible, and net of extreme narrative clumsiness that result unintentionally comical), pushing on friendly bond between the two characters. They joke about it, right from the start: Mike is getting married to Tabitha (Tiffany Haddish), but we all know that the real relationship is the one he has with his friend Marcus, obsessed with junk food and gin and tonic.
One begins and the other ends, they are the decomposed intersection of a cinematic relationship that best translates the concept of male friendship. Both emotional and unexpectedly fragile, ready for tears and bullets, they resolve things by taking the tangent of an exaggerated pragmatism, and as bizarre as the screenplay signed (again) by George Gallo. A recognizability in this case dictated by the dynamics that repeat themselves, copying-and-pasting the same modus operandi already seen, but no less efficient with respect to the purpose devoted to entertainment without commitment. In short, a fourth chapter that does not betray the show, following an honesty of intent that we cannot fail to appreciate.
It’s true that Bad Boys: Ride or Die makes Marcus and Mike two outlaws, thus raising the stakes, up to an ending of those that most explosives (and more phone calls) you couldn’t. Well, if we’re talking about changes, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah play with an almost video game-like staging, making us “impersonate” the coolest agents in Florida (for a legacy that comes from Miami Vice). For a few moments, we too became like Mike and Marcus, as we sang that refrain that hasn’t let go of us for thirty years: “Bad boys, bad boys, Whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they come for you?”.
Conclusions
Miami’s most famous agents return for a fourth action-packed adventure. Nothing changes in the world of Bad Boys, and we willingly accept a film that doesn’t take itself seriously, is exaggerated and ramshackle in its script. A film that aims to entertain, best measuring the understanding between the two protagonists. A promise kept alive, despite thirty years having passed since the first film of the saga.
Because we like it
- Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are a guarantee.
- The setting of Miami.
- Guaranteed action.
What’s wrong
- The Italian dubbing leaves something to be desired.
- Cracked screenplay.
