Bad Boys: Ride or Die (2024) Review

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

It’s crazy that anything in Hollywood can get an appropriate resurgence and it shouldn’t be surprising that the action franchise Bad Boys would have that opportunity as well.


PLOT


The fourth film Ride or Die takes place four years after the previous and follows longtime friends Miami PD officer Mike Lowrey & his retired partner Marcus Burnett make big changes in their lives. On the night Lowrey married his physical therapist Christine, Burnett has a heart attack and after he recovers, he becomes inspired to live life to the fullest as he’s held back to protect his family. However, the incident has inspired Mike to slow things down after spending years living recklessly. As they go about their lives, they shockingly discover a claim that their late Captain Conrad Howard is accused of corruption ties with drug cartels. Both of the bad boys intend to prove his innocence with the help of the new Captain Rita Secada and her new boyfriend, mayoral candidate Adam Lockwood. The protagonist duo then visit Mike’s illegitimate son in prison, Armando Aretas. They question him if he knew anything about this accusation, but he confirms Conrad was never corrupt and was actually on the verge of exposing it before he died; Corrupted officials hired him and his mother Isabel to kill him for that very reason. After this visit do they get a pre recorded message from their captain that the corruption is real. They pick up on a coded phrase that takes them to a gallery ran by their former colleague Fletcher (John Salley). He tries directing them to a QR code that’ll give them the next message until being killed by assassins. Luckily, they get it thanks to AMMO teammates Dorn & Kelly (Alexander Ludwig & Vanessa Hudgens), who are now dating, are able to capture the code on camera. When Armando gets attacked by assassins of his own, he is scheduled to have a prison transfer for his protection. Mike & Marcus join the air lift, only to be caught in a trap by conspirators that causes the aircraft to crash. The protagonists and Armando survive the ordeal, but must now go on the run when said conspirators brand them as fugitives. This only becomes the opportunity for Conrad’s daughter Ruby to extract revenge on Aretas as a US Marshal. They don’t just have a bounty on them by law enforcement, but also opportunistic criminals like Manny the Butcher & Tabitha (DJ Khaled & Tiffany Haddish) get in a shootout for that the dynamic trio luckily evade. Once they regroup with Dorn & Kelly, they unlock the second video from Conrad to confirm the mastermind is Army Ranger turned DEA officer James McGrath who Armando identifies. McGrath has been an informant for the cartel after being captured in an undercover mission and tortured for information, which he has been exploiting ever since. Not only did they discover McGrath to have Christine, as well as Ruby’s daughter Callie (Quinn Hemphill) hostage, demanding Aretas in exchange. Because of this, Marcus checks in on his home and discovers assassins going after his family. Luckily, his son in law Reggie defends the house with his experience as a Marine. Mike then tips off Rita that Lockwood is an accomplice, which she quickly apprehends. Knowing how valuable he is, the protagonists are able to lure McGrath and his goons to an abandoned alligator park, hoping to save the hostages. As a gunfight predictably ensues, Lockwood does try to make a break for it, only to be stopped by Rita who pushes him into the water and be eaten by an albino gator known to the park as Duke. McGrath is able to hold both Marcus & Christine at gunpoint, trying to make Mike decide who to save. Wisely, Lowrey improvises by shooting his longtime partner in his vest, giving the chance for him and his wife to break free long enough for him to shoot the enemy down. Ruby does catch up and holds Aretas at gunpoint, but her daughter convinces her to spare him since he protected her during the shootout. As she and Mike allow the latter’s son to escape, the protagonists are cleared from all charges once the true corruption goes public. The film ends with Mike & Marcus showing respect to Reggie for the first time by allowing him to cook in a public picnic for the family.


THOUGHTS


If the duo of Adil & Bilal proved anything last time, they would exceed expectations Michael Bay made last time as a filmmaker because this one really topped everything they did before and then some. This entry is right at the brink of being the franchise’s best solely off of the creative editing/cinematography combo. Whether it was a tracking shot, a drone or a POV, the action was top notch and I wouldn’t have it any other way. As for the usual, you can’t go wrong with the amazing chemistry by Will Smith & Martin Lawrence. Everyone thought Smith’s career was over when he slapped Chris Rock live at the Oscars, due to a joke that his wife Jada Pickett found inappropriate. But the second his partner slapped him during the climax to focus, the actor proved he wasn’t gonna let that define him, otherwise he would’ve not allowed it to make the cut. Apart from that, we got a real shakeup in seeing the  infamous duo swap perspectives this time which makes the whole adventure memorable for the right reasons. The dynamic this time is about how it’s never too late to make changes yet still doesn’t mean we have to abandon our old ways simultaneously, which I understood when following the ensemble. Smith has always portrayed Mike as the competent one and always determined. It’s quite a surprise that he doesn’t marry Rita since the third film implied they still had chemistry, but I respect him settling down with Christine because thanks to the presence of actress Melanie Liburd in her given time, she gives him a new reason to live. At the very least, Paola Nuñez still makes her a capable ally who knows Mike enough he and Marcus would never go down the wrong path, and the same can be said with AMMO. Mike was always the guy with nothing to lose and marrying her changed that, thus making him hold back from the badass he defined himself as. Lawrence really took advantage in making Marcus feel immortal as he felt grateful to survive the heart attack and wanted to live fearlessly for the first time. He takes his carefree attitude so far that he’ll take it personal when you eat his snacks he’s not supposed to eat, due to the doctor’s orders to diet. My biggest laugh had to be him sharing a dream in which he owned Mike as a donkey and they confirm it with a post credit scene I can’t unsee. Speaking of which, I was surprised of Tasha Smith being a believable replacement for Theresa since I was so used Theresa Randle and couldn’t believe she didn’t want to come back. Other than that, the true scene stealer was Reggie. Everyone still laughs to this day on how he was first introduced in the second film, but it was great to see the growth Dennis McDonald had in him all along and the guys finally noticed. And that smile he gave at the end proved it was all worth it. Considering that the 2020 sequels are all about legacy, it’s a given to see it take an unconventional approach. We are still surprised Mike had a son since he never planned to be a dad like Marcus, but it was neat to see how much he took responsibility in wanting to protect Armando. Jacob Scipio still owns it in being a guy that has to use what he knows to survive, which he still suggests towards his dad, but still finds common ground when doing right by others. He chooses to do so because he’s in his Mike’s old shoes where he has nothing to lose when doing good now. Should he ever cross paths again with his family, I hope it’s on good terms. While we know Joe Pantoliano was untouchable as the unhinged yet compassionate Conrad Howard, which is why it was also nice to see his legacy live on through his family as well. Rhea Seehorn did a good job in reflecting Rudy as one who has her own compassion with the law, but her loss has made her rightfully stern. She did not want to hesitate avenging her father, but she respected her daughter’s wishes not just for believing her, but then and there she knew it wasn’t gonna bring him back. Whatever she does, I hope she’s on the same side as the bad boys. For a while, I would assume Isabel would be the best of the franchise’s villains due to being so cunning in the third film, but I think McGrath topped her in that. I say this because Eric Dane approaches him as a guy who got too comfortable in a life he didn’t ask for, knowing he’d gain power the longer he stuck around, thus easily manipulating everyone he could and killing anyone that couldn’t be. You add this with Ioan Gruffudd making a stingy scumbag out of Lockwood, you would have an assumption that he was unstoppable until he was proven otherwise. They may not be the end of corruption, but their downfall proved evil can be stopped as long as you don’t doubt yourself in your efforts. This movie is gonna hold up very well as time goes by, but there are still some things that bothered me as I rewatched it. Like for starters, I don’t think the nurse should’ve left the roof after Mike said he’s got Marcus because there could’ve been a point where he didn’t, so talk about too much trust. And personally, I think McGrath was wasting time killing the banker when he has enough power to the change the records himself. He could’ve hacked the login at home if you think about it, so this was a pointless act of power. I’m surprised that when he stages the murder-suicide between him and the mistress that the banker’s wife doesn’t recognize his voice since she was called during that commotion. Also, why would Isabel even bother adding Conrad to the hit list anyway when the whole point was to avenge her husband? I know Armando didn’t care at the time, but it doesn’t seem like she needed to do this since he wasn’t part of the plan. I even think Marcus was overthinking the possibility of zero corruption in Miami PD because it’s not like it isn’t possible otherwise cartel members like McGrath wouldn’t even exist. My only takeaway with Conrad’s plan to send the pre recorded message is that his computer is easy to hack and he should’ve left the message in a flash drive at least for someone like Ruby to pass on to the bad boys. And the big gamble of the QR code was that anyone that wasn’t either of the protagonists could’ve found it and shared it with the wrong people which would’ve went downhill. I honestly think it’s crazy he didn’t think about going public to news media, in which he could’ve gotten protection in more ways than one. Also, why the fuck does Callie leave home just to get to Christine? She could’ve called her and she’d still get kidnapped either way because Ruby would be so caught up with the manhunt. Rita even messes up confronting Lockwood on the elevator when that is way too isolated of a place to go about it. She’s lucky backup was nearby to be by her side. Lastly, how the fuck does Callie’s bracelet come off when she never even touched it as she helped Armando get back up? I know we need an excuse for Ruby to find her, but this was so ridiculous to go about it. Ignore this, then you’ll still have a blast as much as I did. In conclusion, Bad Boys: Ride or Die was a blast of an action film for doing its best to be different in more ways than one. If you’re an action fan that has seen the previous films, it’s a no brainer you’ll dig this too.