Bad Boys Ride or Die (2024)
Directed by Adil and Bilal
Written by Chris Beamer, Will Beall
Starring Will Smith, Martin Lawrence, Vanessa Hudgens, Alexander Ludwig
Release Date June 7th, 2024
Published June 7th, 2024
To say that my expectations for the fourth film in the Bad Boys franchise were low would be a grave understatement. I loathed Bad Boys 2 all the way back in 2003 and never forgot that feeling. When Bad Boys for life arrived in 2020, it did not improve my feelings at all. Thus, with a fourth film arriving with the cultural baggage of being Will Smith's first big summer blockbuster comeback since his Oscars... moment, I had no good reason to be even remotely interested in Bad Boys Ride or Die.
I assumed the franchise would coast on what it has always done, be loud, be colorful, make terrible jokes, bullets, bullets, bullets, credits. Indeed, there are plenty of bullets in Bad Boys Ride or Die but I am surprised to say that the franchise is not coasting. The fourth film actually introduces a few interesting character wrinkles into the storytelling while still remaining a blockbuster action movie. The action of Bad Boys Ride or Die is a significant improvement for directors Adil and Bilal whose bad impression of Michael Bay in Bad Boys for Life made for a nearly unwatchable movie.
Find my full length review at Geeks.Media, linked here.
