#MovieReview: ‘Bad Boys: Ride or Die’ provides mindless fun and box office success
The Bad Boys series has been one of modern cinema's most consistent, both critically and commercially.
Bad Boys: Ride or Die probably never needed to happen, but it delivers a pretty fun ride nonetheless.
The fourth instalment in the Bad Boys franchise again pairs the duo of Will Smith and Martin Lawrence as two detectives with a flexible understanding of the law.
The Bad Boys series has been one of modern cinema’s most consistent, both critically and commercially.
It is the series that first made Will Smith an A-list megastar, and you can see why it has become one he has returned to after his reputation took a hit.
Perhaps we would get interesting late-career character acting turns from Smith had he not slapped Chris Rock, but it seems reputation management is the current priority.
And so Ride or Die happens, which provides plenty of mindless action, even if the two leads are now pushing their mid to late 50s. Hell, it never stopped Tom Cruise.
The series should also absolutely get credit for its continued ability to draw box office receipts in a time when the global take of cinemas is scarily low. At the time of writing, Ride or Die had taken almost $150-million in just over a week.
It is clear that Smith remains an A-list figure for the general fan and it is yet another example of what can happen when a big-budget movie is made and marketed with black actors.
There are sparingly few that do so anymore, as studios shoot for crossover appeal that targets every demographic possible.
Specificity should not be a flaw of a movie, but a draw card for a certain audience. And while Ride or Die is definitely broader than it is specific, there is no denying it fills a gap long since left open.
It is certainly not going to be in any awards races, but the movie has enough appeal to be worth recommending.
Watch it for well practiced chemistry between the lead and respectable action.
Rated 16 for Language and Violence.
3/5.
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