Bad Boys for Life

Ich habe mir am Wochenende die ganze Trilogie angesehen und die Bewertung vom dritten Teil erhöhe ich auf 4*. Im Kino störte mich die billige digitale Verarbeitung der Actionszenen, die dann im größeren Fernseher nicht so auffällig war. Es fehlen hier zwar Bays Trademarks und eine originelle Komposition, wenn man aber das Drehbuch in Betracht zieht, waren die Trademarks und die visuelle Seite der vorigen Filme eigentlich das Einzige, was an ihnen interessant war. Insbesondere beim zweiten Teil. Der dritte Teil hat das beste Drehbuch und geschmackvoll eingegliederte historische Motive. Der Film arbeitet schlau und sympathisch mit den Figuren, einschließlich der Nebengestalten aus dem Polizeiteam sowie den markanten Schuften, und macht sich über sich selbst lustig ("This is some serious telenovela shit!“). Die neue, frische Teamarbeit deutet einen Anfang einer neuen Bad-Boys-Ära an. Ich hoffe, dass sie nicht bald wie die Serie Fast & Furious scheitern wird. Mindestens solange sich um sie Arbi und Fallah kümmern werden. (22.01.2020)

Will Smith is still cool as hell, Lawrence is surprisingly entertaining and funny, and the amount of action is pleasantly reasonable. Towards the end, however, the screenwriters sadly turned it into a stupid Mexican telenovela. Literally. (07.04.2020)

An unbelievably pleasant surprise. The directors found a way how to film a high quality nineties action movie with a contemporary feeling and in some places even an innovative camera during the action scenes. I almost have a feeling that this is one of the few comebacks from the nineties which was really great. The story is fine, the action is great and with the performances it got back to time of the first two movies. Will Smith and Martin Lawrence are even after 20 years the same cool guys with great lines that the viewer enjoys a lot. One of the biggest surprises that Hollywood had in store for me in the last few years. (24.09.2020)

I didn't believe it could be really good. I didn't really hope it would be. So I ended up having a hell of a time at the cinema. Bad Boys for Life is an excellent action comedy with the classic Jerry Bruckheimer signature that not only matches the previous installments, but in many ways surpasses them. True, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are not as imaginative and aggressive in the action scenes as Michael Bay used to be, but they easily fit into the "above average Hollywood craftsmanship" box and have enough ideas to keep the audience entertained during the shootouts and chases. Far more important here, however, is the humour and, above all, the perfectly natural chemistry between Will Smith and Martin Lawrence. The two clearly enjoyed their roles immensely, and they thoroughly enjoy returning after all these years. Their dialogue exchanges, bantering and mocking each other feels natural and genuine, but most of all, it's genuinely fun and funny, and you suddenly realise that they had no idea how much they had missed Mike and Marcus. Bad Boys for Life is the kind of honest action comedy that only the most optimistic could hope for. And despite a few slightly over-the-top twists, I'll admit that I don't really know what Bruckheimer and his crew should have done to make it better. This movie made me terribly happy. (15.01.2020)

A fine, Nineties-style Bruckheimer-esque flick with all of the strengths and weaknesses that we haven’t seen for a long time. Furthermore, it's a sequel that is, within limits, not likably not over the top (except for the scene with the armed sidecar). With its style and scale, the duo of music-video directors definitely come closer to the first movie than to the crazy second one. If there had not been pointless filler and the slow paced middle sequences resulting from it and rather slow action, there wouldn't be much to fault them for apart from trying to copy early Bay (albeit successfully). But the most important thing is that, surprisingly, this is not the worst movie of the trilogy. Taking into account that the main roles are played by two 50-year-old actors (one is fat and the other is past his prime) after almost two decades, that is encouraging as well as surprising. (17.01.2020)

The underdog turned out to be a January hit, both financially and critically, and Bad Boys 3 is definitely the best part of the whole trilogy and a nice start to 2020. Will Smith is back in great form and Martin Lawrence is back to his usual bubbly self, but his humour is great again. I was worried that without Michael Bay the action wouldn't have any bite, but Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah are very confident and ambitious in the action scenes, helped by some great cinematography, a large dose of violence and plenty of interesting ideas. The bad guys are good too, especially the for me unknown Jacob Scipio, who does a solid job, and his mother played by Kate del Castillo is also good. I must also praise the music and the very fast pace, where action alternates with humour and there is no time to watch the clock, let alone think. Great fun that has style and flair. 8/10. (29.01.2020)

I didn't want to return to this overcooked version of Miami, but the new creators not only torched the pond but the whole series. Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah actually made the best installment. It's still doesn't make it too far without an infantile line, and more than one argument between the main duo takes several times longer than a joke should require, but it's still a much better estimate of what the audience can endure, and that level characterizes both the screenplay and the action twists. I also enjoy the main, overused twist, which may come to some as a surprise, but it simply suits my tastes that a seemingly invisible antagonist can suddenly turn into a respectable opponent. (23.12.2020)

In its fourth instalment, a gerontic reunion held years later, the iconic buddy-movie series Lethal Weapon set out on the path of a sitcom or television genre show for middle-aged people. With its protagonists a decade older, Bad Boys makes a bee line to the soap-opera genre for seniors. On the one hand, it is fully conscious of that fact, which adds the necessary exaggeration to the film. On the other hand, the exaggerated soap-operatic moments of kitschy melodrama will paradoxically remain in the viewer’s memory longer than the diligently constructed action sequences, which are undermined by the need to digitally insert the aging stars into sequences with physically fit young people. (05.01.2021)

The ending is like something out of a Mexican telenovela on a (good) trip. The Bad Boys are back for one last escapade, but surprisingly it seems like more of a toned-down version of the first one with emphasis placed on the story. The effective storyline around Mike is brimming with death. Smith really needed this role again, which might well restart his career. And Lawrence will never land a better role. The AMMO team is unexpectedly fine and the chemistry between the old and the new works unexpectedly well. Even the new directors know their stuff. They can’t yet compete with the big boss, but they have style. And Bay’s cameo was also good to see. P.S. Paola Nuñez is awesome. (01.02.2020)

The best episode. A consistent, funny and very entertaining sequel that makes sense script-wise and doesn't offend with its action. Understandably, it lacks Michael Bay's signature style, so there's a lot less banging and iconic shots. But the unknown director duo have come up with a playful sequel that makes the most of the bare minimum and everything they touch works. Whether Bruckheimer held it together is hard to say, but it doesn't really matter. Bad Boys 4? I’m up. (19.01.2020)

Ich habe gehofft, dass es gut wird. Ich hätte aber nicht gedacht, dass es so super ist. Es ist eine Actionkomödie, die nicht zögert. Im Unterschied zu den vorigen Filmen hat sie aber auch eine gewisse Schicksalhaftigkeit und eine wirkungsvolle Rührung. Wirklich. The Expendables (2 und 3) könnten hier lernen, wie man alles richtig mischt und serviert, wie man die Rückkehr von einer alten Bande (und auch den Abschied) macht, wie man ein neues junges Team vorstellt und wie man es effektiv mit dem alten zusammenarbeiten lässt, ohne dass es krampfhaft wirken würde. Mike und Marcus haben bestimmt einen nächsten Film verdient, so wie Will Smith und Martin Lawrence (besonders bei ihm fand ich interessant, wie zu ihm die ernsteren Momente passen). Die Geschichte ist überraschend, aber gleichzeitig logisch. Die Actionszenen sehen ohne Michael Bay genau richtig aus. Und weil das Ganze über das Zurückkehren war, habe ich mich auch über die Rückkehr vom ursprünglichen Musikmotiv von Mark Mancina sehr gefreut. (22.01.2020)

Did anybody really need this cold shower from the 90s? Personally, I’m a fan of bringing back and dusting something that’s no longer very cool, but I don’t think the deliberately sarcastic reflection of the megalomaniac and dumb Bruckheimer era of the third Bad Boys is particularly original or refreshing. The best are the moments when it doesn’t take itself seriously and makes fun at the fact that the protagonists are over the hill (especially the bloated Lawrence). But they have to squeeze a sorrowful personal story that I didn’t like at all and that undermined the potential of entertainment that the return of these simple and likeable heroes from an another era in Hollywood had. Am I to understand that there can no longer be proper, straightforward action flicks without a pointless dramatic arc? But it’s more cohesive and sharper than the second one, no doubt. 60% (02.04.2020)

No teda, das ist eine lateinamerikanische Telenovela, wie aus dem Bilderbuch. Und selbst die Tatsache, dass das Drehbuch die Figuren im Laufe des Films bewusst alles enthüllen lässt, rechtfertigt es nicht. Für mich sind die dritten Mizerové eine ziemlich zufällige Fortsetzung der vorherigen zwei Teile, in denen Michael Bay eindeutig an actionreichen Szenen fehlt, und ein recht unterhaltsamer Gastauftritt kann das kaum wettmachen. Das Ende ist dann nur ein totaler Cliffhanger, der höchstens der Serie Rychle a zběsile gerecht wird, obwohl ich die Mizery immer für eine etwas solider angelegte Franchise hielt. (03.04.2020)

One of the defining characteristics of an action movie, and why we enjoy it in the first place, is the willy-nilly ruthlessness, crudeness, and ignorance of its characters. You don't do a car chase without a third party being threatened in the process, you don't do a shootout in the streets without bullets flying past the ears of innocent civilians. The essential strength of Bad Boys II was the exploitation of this feature. Combined with the breathtaking action, the stupid, cheesy, but always spiced-up dialogue, and the emphasis on the rich and down-to-earth spirit of Miami, it was the definition of guilty pleasure. Bad Boys For Life refuses to build on this approach, fearing that it would be too problematic today. And with that, the franchise ceased to exist. All that's been created is another digitally re-colored B-movie with 60 fps action scenes that make it barely watchable. Smith and Lawrence, moving in different circles over the past 18 years, no longer have any spark between them; Miami, shot here mostly at night, is not one of the leads as it was before (those studio interiors and exteriors look awfully familiar); and if its interchangeability wasn't enough, AGAIN the film can't do without the protagonists now having to be part of a whole team. As an illustration of how the landscape for action movies has changed in twenty years, this is perfect. I reject this vegan Bad Boys in which every scene is a compromise of everything with everything. (14.04.2020)