I was lucky enough to be invited to an early screening of Bad Boys 4 and I was not disappointed. I am a long time fan on Will Smith and Martin Lawrence and can remember seeing the original bad Boys movie in theaters in 1995. I was very disappointed with Bad Boys 3. It felt very flat and forced and Martin looked like he was just there for a check. He was not his same self and comedic genius that we know him for. Referencing the Lethal Weapon franchise it looked like they were too old for this shit.
Bad Boys 4 was a good movie. much better than the third installment. It brought back the feelings I had when watching the first two movies in the franchise. Martin and Will clearly took this seriously and worked out and were in great shape. Martin’s character arc in this movie made Bad Boys 4 way better than his arc in the previous movie. He was carefree and back to being a comedic genius. Will Smith’s arc picked up from where it left off finding out he had a son and it actually changed his life. We see just how his life changed right the start of the movie. The opening scene with Will and Martin was a clear sign that we were in for a good movie. Martin looked way more active and in good health as he was back to performing physically.
The movie has great pacing. There are soft scenes, action scenes and we see a fan favorite in Martin’s son-in-law Reggie have one of the greatest action sequences in the entire movie. There were some creative ways in which action sequences were shot to include first person shooter video game like moments. They managed to bring some new elements to the movie and did a great job of bringing Captain Howard and the new crop of cast members from Bad Boys 3.
I give Bad Boys 4 a 7/10. Directors: Adil El Arbi, Bilall Fallah did a much better job of delivering a complete movie this go around. Martin’s character Marcus was truly born again with this installment and I think they left room for another movie should they choose to make another one. There is a scene where Martin repeatedly claps Will. Was this a nod to the infamous slap of Chris Rock at the Academy Awards? This movie has it all, car chases, shootouts, helicopter action scenes, crocodiles and cameos from Tiffany Haddish, DJ Khaled, and Michael Bay. Bad Boys 4 surpassed my expectations and it was better than it had any right to be.
Will and Martin proved they were up for this challenge while also accepting the new age of promoting movies. I have long said that the days of promoting movies through regular commercials on television is dying and movie studios need to start promoting through the TikTokers and social media influencers. Will Smith and Martin embraced this by going on a marketing campaign that should be studied for marketing firms. They tapped into the culture and made videos with some of the most popular social media influencers and it was brilliant. By collaborating with influencers such as King Vader and Kleo Thomas they proved that they are not in fact too old for this shit. As always thanks to Sony for the early screening.
@khleothomas Coming soon… @Will Smith x @Martin Lawrence | @Bad Boys: Ride or Die #BadBoys @Sony Pictures
@kingvader Have you seen these men? 😳BadBoys: Ride Or Die is in theaters June 7 @Will Smith @Martin Lawrence #SonyPicsPartner
@khaby.lame Why are the Bad Boys always doing the most? 😂🚪🔒 BadBoys: Ride Or Die is exclusively in theaters this June @Bad Boys: Ride or Die @Sony Pictures #SonyPicsPartner
Here is the trailer for Bad Boys 4